Breastfeeding self-efficacy and postpartum depression: a cohort study.
Erika de Sá Vieira, Nathalia Torquato Caldeira, Daniella Soares Eugênio and 2 others
PMID 30208158WHAT IT FOUND
Women with low breastfeeding confidence stopped exclusive breastfeeding after 21 days, compared to 148 days for those with high confidence.
Depression symptoms also predicted earlier weaning, but the two factors were not linked to each other in this group.
Key findings
01Women with low breastfeeding self-efficacy scores interrupted exclusive breastfeeding significantly earlier (median 21 days) than those with medium (36 days) or high (148 days) scores.
02The chance of stopping exclusive breastfeeding decreased by 48% when moving from low to medium self-efficacy, and by 80% when moving from medium to high.
03Women with postpartum depression symptoms (EPDS score ≥10) stopped exclusive breastfeeding earlier (median 27 days) than those without symptoms (median 38 days).
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
High dropout rate: only 83 of the initial 208 women completed the full 210-day follow-up, which may introduce bias if those who withdrew differed from those who stayed. The study population was recruited from a specialized breastfeeding support clinic, so results may not generalize to mothers in the general community who do not seek such support. Depression was screened using a scale (EPDS) rather than clinically diagnosed, so the findings apply to symptoms, not necessarily major depressive disorder.
Declared interests
The paper does not report any specific conflicts of interest or funding sources in the provided text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that treating depression will automatically extend breastfeeding duration. In the multivariate analysis, depression symptoms were not significant once breastfeeding self-efficacy was considered, suggesting that building maternal confidence may be the more direct target for intervention.