Anxiety and its influence on maternal breastfeeding self-efficacy.
Luciana Camargo de Oliveira Melo, Marina Cortez Pereira Bonelli, Rosa Vanessa Alves Lima and 2 others
PMID 34755773WHAT IT FOUND
At 60 days postpartum, mothers with low trait or state anxiety had higher breastfeeding confidence.
At 120 and 180 days, state anxiety was not linked to confidence. The paper shows a link, not a treatment effect.
Key findings
01At 60 days postpartum, women with low trait anxiety had higher breastfeeding self-efficacy (p=0.0142).
02The state anxiety link with breastfeeding confidence was significant only at 60 days (p=0.0159), not at 120 days (p=0.1482) or 180 days (p=0.8248).
03Most women reported high breastfeeding self-efficacy and low anxiety at the study visits.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study measured association, not effect, so it does not show that reducing anxiety improves breastfeeding confidence. Anxiety was measured with a general questionnaire, not one specific to the postpartum period. The researchers did not investigate anxiety symptoms or previous treatment, and women identified with high anxiety were not followed through the health unit's assessment protocol. The study took place in one Basic Health Unit in one city in Brazil, so it may not apply to other populations. The report is inconsistent about low breastfeeding self-efficacy: one passage says no participant had low self-efficacy, while Table 1 and Discussion report one woman at 60 days.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that reducing anxiety will increase breastfeeding confidence or duration. The study measured association only, and the state anxiety link was not significant at 120 or 180 days.