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. 2023 Sep 9;23(1):654.
doi: 10.1186/s12884-023-05971-1.

Breastfeeding in primiparous women - expectations and reality: a prospective questionnaire survey

Katrin Oberfichtner  1 , Peter Oppelt  2 , Daniela Fritz  3 , Katharina Hrauda  2 , Christian Fritz  4 , Barbara Schildberger  3 , Julia Lastinger  2 , Patrick Stelzl  2 , Sabine Enengl  2
Affiliations

Breastfeeding in primiparous women - expectations and reality: a prospective questionnaire survey

Katrin Oberfichtner et al. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. .

Abstract

Background: Breastfeeding provides the optimal nutrition for infants and offers numerous benefits for both mother and child. The World Health Organisation recommends exclusive breastfeeding during the first 6 months of life and the introduction of complementary feeding between the fifth and seventh months of life. There is a discrepancy between breastfeeding recommendations and the actual duration of breastfeeding. The aim of this study was to analyse breastfeeding behaviour in primiparous women in order to be able to provide support for mothers.

Methods: In this prospective, questionnaire-based study conducted between 2020 and 2022, primiparous women were asked to complete three questionnaires at three defined survey time points (routine prepartum presentation, postpartum hospitalization, completed sixth month of life).

Results: A total of 140 women were included and returned all three questionnaires. Fifty-eight percent performed breastfeeding exclusively at least until their baby had reached the age of 6 months, whereas 20% already stopped within the first 6 months. The main reasons given for early cessation were insufficient milk supply and inadequate infant weight gain. A comprehensive level of prepartum knowledge had a significant positive effect on participants' sense of confidence with breastfeeding. Sociodemographic factors such as age and educational level were also associated with breastfeeding behaviour, but significant corresponding differences in the duration of breastfeeding were not observed. Women with postpartum midwifery care breastfed significantly longer (p < 0.05).

Conclusions: Breastfeeding behaviour and duration are influenced by multiple factors. Although certain sociodemographic factors are unalterable, comprehensive prepartum knowledge transfer and postpartum midwifery care have a positive impact on breastfeeding behaviour.

Trial registration: The study was retrospectively registered at the German Clinical Trials Register (Deutsches Register Klinischer Studien, DRKS) on 6 December 2022 (DRKS00030763).

Keywords: Breastfeeding behaviour; Breastfeeding duration; Expectations; Midwifery care.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Breastfeeding prevalence. The orange line indicates the percentages (y-axis) of women who were breastfeeding exclusively, while the blue line represents the percentages of women performing any kind of breastfeeding (x-axis). It should be noted that the percentage of mothers who were breastfeeding exclusively decreased to 21% after 6 months
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Expectations and reality. The orange bars indicate the percentages (x-axis) of women who actually breastfed exclusively for a specific time period (y-axis), while the blue bars represent their original expectations. The chart refers to an exact time period (e.g., 3–4 months) rather than the minimum breastfeeding duration and is therefore not comparable with Fig. 1. It should be noted that the breastfeeding behaviour differed significantly from the participants’ prepartum intentions
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Expected benefits of breastfeeding. The women were asked to what extent (very, quite, not so much, not at all) they believed that the aspects mentioned were positively influenced by breastfeeding. The blue bars indicate in percentages (x-axis) how often the answers ‘very’ or ‘quite’ were given to each statement prepartum and the orange bars indicate the postpartum believes
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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