Maternal Satisfaction With Breastfeeding At The End Of Puerperium And Associated Factors

Abstract

Background: Success of maternal breastfeeding could be achieved by maternal satisfaction and duration of breast feeding. Our present study measures the level of maternal satisfaction with breast feeding at the end of the puerperium.

Methods: This is a prospective cross-sectional study that was conducted among 385 postpartum women delivered in SRM Medical college Hospital and Research centre , who met the inclusion criteria from February 2022 to November 2022. After obtaining informed consent, data was collected regarding the  sociodemographic characteristics, the woman’s health, last pregnancy, labor and puerperium. After six weeks postpartum, mothers were called upon and asked about their level of satisfaction with breast feeding in the six weeks postpartum period using the Maternal Breastfeeding Evaluation Scale (MBFES) that has been validated for use in south Indian population. The level of maternal satisfaction with breast feeding was categorized using the cutoff point obtained with MBFES. Based on the values, they were categorized into highly satisfied, satisfied and with average satisfaction.

Results: High levels of satisfaction was observed among 222 participants (57.7%), 96 participants (24.9%) were satisfied and remaining 67(17.4%) had average level of satisfaction with breast feeding. Also, the clinical findings showcased that among the sample population who exhibited average & low level of satisfaction were due to factors like parity (p- 0.001), mode of delivery (p- 0.000), low milk supply( p- 0.015), pain while breast feeding( p- 0.021), nipple anatomy problems( p- 0.000), difficulty latching on ( p- 0.008), milk oversupply(p- 0.023) and use of formula feeds(p- 0.005).

Conclusion:From the present study, it could be identified that there are certain key factors that are directly in association with maternal satisfaction during the puerperium time. We believe that working to increase maternal breastfeeding satisfaction should be a part of breast feeding promotion strategies. Efforts in this direction should be initiated during the pre natal care, with special attention to the factors associated with low level of  satisfaction with breast feeding.