Maternal perception of factors that interfere with breastfeeding of preterm newborns.
Bárbara Helem da Fonseca Patrocínio Werneck, Juliana Cordeiro de Oliveira, Cláudia Gonçalves de Oliveira and 3 others
PMID 39109755WHAT IT FOUND
Mothers of preterm infants most often blamed their own physical and emotional state for breastfeeding difficulties, not the baby's health.
Support networks were linked to exclusive breastfeeding at discharge, while lower education correlated with not answering questions.
Key findings
01The most frequent category of perceived interference was the mother's clinical, physical, and psychoemotional conditions (42.1%), followed by the newborn's conditions (37.7%).
02Mothers who identified the support network as a factor were significantly more likely to have babies exclusively breastfed at discharge (p = 0.011).
03Perception that maternal conditions interfere with breastfeeding was associated with higher education (p = 0.001), paternal presence (p = 0.003), and multiparity (p = 0.030).
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study was cross-sectional, so it cannot prove causation. Data collection occurred during hospitalization, a stressful period that may have skewed perceptions of maternal distress. The sample was from a single public hospital in Brazil, limiting generalizability. A significant number of mothers (26.3%) did not respond to the questions, and non-response was associated with lower education levels.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that maternal perception of interference reflects actual physiological barriers. The study shows what mothers believe hinders breastfeeding, which is often their own emotional state, but does not measure actual milk production or infant swallowing ability.