Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Feb 17;8(2):150.
doi: 10.3390/children8020150.

Women's Mental Health as a Factor Associated with Exclusive Breastfeeding and Breastfeeding Duration: Data from a Longitudinal Study in Greece

Maria Dagla  1   2 , Irina Mrvoljak-Theodoropoulou  1 , Despoina Karagianni  1 , Calliope Dagla  1 , Dimitra Sotiropoulou  1 , Eleni Kontiza  1 , Aikaterini-Taxiarchoula Kavakou  1 , Evangelia Antoniou  1   2
Affiliations

Women's Mental Health as a Factor Associated with Exclusive Breastfeeding and Breastfeeding Duration: Data from a Longitudinal Study in Greece

Maria Dagla et al. Children (Basel). .

Abstract

Background: This study investigated the relationship between exclusive breastfeeding and breastfeeding duration, and maternal psychological well-being in the perinatal period.

Methods: A longitudinal study involving a retrospective follow-up of a group of 1080 women from pregnancy to the 1st year postpartum, who gave birth during the 5-year period between January 2014 and January 2019 in Athens, Greece, was designed. Women's history and two psychometric tools-the Edinburg Postpartum Depression Scale (EPDS) and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) administered at 5-time points-were used for data collection. Logistic regression analysis and a series of multiple analysis of variance (MANOVA) tests were performed.

Results: The chance for exclusive breastfeeding (giving only breast milk) appeared to decrease (a) with an increase of the scores for psychometric tools antenatally (PHQ-9, p = 0.030) or at the 6th week postpartum (EPDS, p < 0.001 and PHQ-9, p < 0.001), (b) with an increase in the number of psychotherapeutic sessions needed antenatally (p = 0.030), and (c) when the initiation of psychotherapy was necessary postpartum (p = 0.002). Additionally, a shorter duration of any breastfeeding (with or without formula or other types of food/drink) seems to be associated with (a) the occurrence of pathological mental health symptoms (p = 0.029), (b) increased PHQ-9 scores antenatally (p = 0.018), (c) increased EPDS scores at the 6th week (p = 0.004) and the 12th month postpartum (p = 0.031), (d) the initiation of psychotherapy postpartum (p = 0.040), and e) the need for more than 13 psychotherapeutic sessions (p = 0.020).

Conclusions: This study demonstrates a negative relationship between exclusive breastfeeding and breastfeeding duration, and poor maternal mental health in the perinatal period.

Keywords: EPDS; PHQ-9; breastfeeding; depression; duration; exclusivity; mental health.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The relationship between exclusive breastfeeding at the end of the 6th month postpartum and independent variables according to the logistic regression analysis model.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The means of any breastfeeding duration and breastfeeding duration without giving any formula according to women’s mental health characteristics in the perinatal period.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The means of any breastfeeding duration and breastfeeding duration without giving any formula according to women’s mental health characteristics in the perinatal period.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Binns C., Lee M., Low W.Y. The Long-Term Public Health Benefits of Breastfeeding. Asia Pac. J. Public Health. 2016;28:7–14. doi: 10.1177/1010539515624964. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Ip S., Chung M., Raman G., Trikalinos T.A., Lau J. A Summary of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s Evidence Report on Breastfeeding in Developed Countries. Breastfeed. Med. 2009;4:17–30. doi: 10.1089/bfm.2009.0050. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Groer M.W., Davis M.W. Cytokines, Infections, Stress, and Dysphoric Moods in Breastfeeders and Formula feeders. J. Obstet. Gynecol. Neonatal Nurs. 2006;35:599–607. doi: 10.1111/j.1552-6909.2006.00083.x. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Figueiredo B., Canário C., Field T. Breastfeeding is negatively affected by prenatal depression and reduces postpartum depression. Psychol. Med. 2014;44:927–936. doi: 10.1017/S0033291713001530. - DOI - PubMed
    1. World Health Organization Promoting Proper Feeding for Infants and Young Children. [(accessed on 31 July 2018)]; Available online: http://www.who.int/nutrition/topics/infantfeeding/en/

LinkOut - more resources