Breastfeeding success and its relation to maternal pain, behaviour, mental health, and social support.

Objective: We aimed to understand the maternal experience of breastfeeding onset and how psychological, social and clinical variables as pain during breastfeeding, may interfere with it.

Methods: A cross-sectional study investigated 395 post-delivery women able to breastfeed from 48 hours to 6 days for unpleasant breastfeeding, maternal stress during pregnancy and postnatal mental state. Social Readjustment Rating Scale evaluated prenatal maternal stress. Perceived Maternal Parenting Self-Efficacy Scale, Pain Catastrophizing Scale - Parent version, and Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale evaluated maternal mental state.

Results: Unpleasant breastfeeding experience showed to be positively related to the longer number of days the pain lasts; late onset of breastfeeding; less search for information about pregnancy and baby care (p < .01); lower catastrophizing behaviour towards infant´s stress and C-section delivery (p < .04). Pain levels were positively correlated to longer periods of pain, later onset of antenatal consultations and depression (p < .05). Binary logistic regression pointed to the effects of lower self-efficacy and pain in breastfeeding, higher depression levels, gestational stress, labour adversities and success in breastfeeding.

Conclusions: The relationship among maternal perceived self-efficacy, anxious and depressive thoughts, catastrophizing behaviours, and unpleasant breastfeeding need to be evaluated to elucidate the best health professional intervention.