Perceptions of Coping With Breastfeeding Pain: A Secondary Analysis.
Megan Russell, Ruth Lucas, Katherine Bernier Carney
PMID 39692403WHAT IT FOUND
Thirty of 57 parents said coping with breastfeeding pain felt different, describing it as new, time-limited, and tied to infant care; some feared failure.
Pain scores did not differ between these parents and others.
Key findings
01Thirty participants (53%) responded affirmatively that coping with breastfeeding pain differed from other pain at least once during the 6-week study.
02Three themes emerged from 71 responses: uncharted waters, light at the end of the tunnel, and parental role and responsibility.
03Pain severity was not statistically different between participants who said coping differed and those who did not at week 1, week 2, or week 6.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
This is a secondary analysis of a small pilot trial, so it describes perceptions rather than testing whether an intervention works. The sample came from two US medical centers and all participants reported being female, so the findings may not apply to other settings or gender-diverse parents. Only participants who said coping with breastfeeding pain differed were asked to write explanations, so parents who said coping was similar were not described. The quantitative comparison was not powered, and the analysis did not examine how perception of coping, pain score, and original intervention group interacted. The original intervention had more than one component, so the contribution of nurse-led text messages and educational modules cannot be separated.
Declared interests
The paper is listed as supported by NIH extramural and non-U.S. government research; no author conflict-of-interest declaration is included in the supplied text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the coping themes as proof that a strategy reduces breastfeeding pain. This was a secondary analysis of a pilot intervention that included nurse-led bi-weekly text messages and educational modules, so neither component was tested alone, and pain scores were not significantly different between parents who said coping differed and those who did not.