The Effect of Anxiety on Breastfeeding in The Early Postpartum Period

Abstract

The study was conducted to determine the effect of mothers' anxiety on breastfeeding in the early postpartum period. The descriptive and relationship-seeking study was conducted with 118 mothers. The data were collected by sending them to the mothers from social media platforms (WhatsApp, facebook, instagram, twitter, etc.) with the help of an online survey created through Google Forms. Personal Description Form and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) were used to collect research data. Descriptive statistics (number, percentage, mean and standard deviation), t-test and ANOVA were used to evaluate the data. In the study, the mean age of the mothers was 29.65±5.62, 39.9% of them were literate/primary school, 30.5% worked in a job that generates income, 52.5% had an income equal to/more than their expenses, 73.7% resided in the city, and 73.7% lived in the city. It was found that %80.5 of them had nuclear families. In the study, it was found that 49.2% of the mothers received training on breastfeeding and 41.5% of them received training on breastfeeding from health personnel. It was determined that 56.8% of the mothers breastfed their baby in the first half hour after birth, 59.3% of them started the breast milk flow on the first day after birth, and the mothers breastfed their baby for an average of 10.91±4.65 minutes during each breastfeeding. It was observed that 61.9% of the mothers gave additional food to their babies and the most complementary food was formula. It was determined that 39.8% of the mothers had breast milk enough to meet their baby's needs, 63.6% had problems with breastfeeding, and the most common problems were insufficient milk secretion, nipple cracks and inverted nipples, respectively. It was found that 33.9% of the mothers used breast milk enhancing products, and the most used products were mother tea and fennel. In the study, it was determined that more than one third of the mothers experienced mild anxiety and anxiety affected the time to start first breastfeeding (p<0.05). It is recommended that health professionals working with mothers in the early postpartum period closely monitor mothers with mental problems, support breastfeeding, and take necessary precautions and guidance to initiate treatment in severe cases.