Positive Emotions During Infant Feeding and Breastfeeding Outcomes.
Kathryn Wouk, Christine Tucker, Brian W Pence and 4 others
PMID 31059653WHAT IT FOUND
Positive emotions during feeding at two months were linked to longer exclusive human milk feeding and a better overall breastfeeding experience, but showed no association with the total duration of any human milk feeding.
Key findings
01A one-point increase in positive emotions at two months was associated with a lower hazard of stopping exclusive human milk feeding.
02A one-point increase in positive emotions at two months was associated with a higher score on the Maternal Breastfeeding Evaluation Scale.
03Positive emotions at two months were not associated with the hazard of stopping any human milk feeding.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Participants were required to intend to breastfeed for at least two months, meaning the sample was highly motivated and may not represent women with lower breastfeeding intentions. The study population was predominantly non-Hispanic White, partnered, and highly educated, limiting generalizability to other demographic groups. Exposure to positive emotions was measured at two months, and women who stopped breastfeeding before this point were excluded, which may introduce selection bias. Self-report measures of emotions may have been influenced by concurrent depression or anxiety, although the study did not find that baseline psychopathology modified the results.
Declared interests
The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that improving positive emotions will increase the total duration of any breastfeeding. The study found no significant association between positive emotions and the cessation of any human milk feeding, only with exclusive human milk feeding.