Effect of
exclusive breast feeding education on breast - feeding self - efficacy and maternal stress
Not exact matches
Breastfeeding is an unequalled way of providing ideal food for the healthy growth and development of infants1, providing protection from morbidity and mortality due to infectious diseases2 and chronic diseases later in life.3
Exclusive breastfeeding is recommended, starting within one hour of birth and for the first 6 months of life, with continued breastfeeding to 2 years of age and beyond.4 However, rates of initiation, exclusive breastfeeding and breastfeeding duration have fallen since the widespread introduction and promotion of breast - milk substitutes.5 Successful breastfeeding depends on a number of factors, including a re-normalisation of breastfeeding as the infant feeding method of choice through antenatal counselling and education and breastfeeding support to prevent and resolve breastfeeding diff
Exclusive breastfeeding is recommended, starting within one hour of birth and for the first 6 months of life, with continued breastfeeding to 2 years of age and beyond.4 However, rates of initiation,
exclusive breastfeeding and breastfeeding duration have fallen since the widespread introduction and promotion of breast - milk substitutes.5 Successful breastfeeding depends on a number of factors, including a re-normalisation of breastfeeding as the infant feeding method of choice through antenatal counselling and education and breastfeeding support to prevent and resolve breastfeeding diff
exclusive breastfeeding and breastfeeding duration have fallen since the widespread introduction and promotion of
breast - milk substitutes.5 Successful breastfeeding depends on a number of factors, including a re-normalisation of breastfeeding as the infant
feeding method of choice through antenatal counselling and
education and breastfeeding support to prevent and resolve breastfeeding difficulties.
While antenatal
education and counselling is helpful, 8 68 % of mothers said that early problems with
breast feeding was the main reason they stopped nursing before two months postpartum.7 Other barriers were lack of knowledge about
breast feeding and lack of support from health professionals.7 Women value being shown how to
breast feed rather than being told how to.9 10 Evidence of effective interventions to improve
exclusive breast feeding for the recommended duration of six months is sparse.
A randomised trial in Brazil that compared a hospital based protocol (similar to the baby friendly hospital initiative) with another incorporating intensive home visits, however, found that while the protocol achieved high rates of
exclusive breast feeding in hospital, the rates fell rapidly thereafter.27 These findings were confirmed in the UK by the millennium cohort study, 5 and the authors recommended that the baby friendly hospital initiative as a strategy for promotion of
breast feeding should be reassessed and that other strategies are required to support mothers in the UK to
breast feed for the recommended duration.5 27 Although combined antenatal
education and postnatal support is ideal, this may be limited by economic or time resources.
Objective To investigate whether antenatal
breast feeding education alone or postnatal lactation support alone improves rates of
exclusive breast feeding compared with routine hospital care.
The recent NICE evidence into practice briefing on promotion of initiation and duration of
breast feeding, 4 however, recommended that
education and support should be targeted at women with low incomes to increase rates of
exclusive breast feeding.