Anxiety and its influence on maternal breastfeeding self-efficacy

Abstract

Objective: to identify the levels of anxiety and breastfeeding self-efficacy in puerperal women at the intervals of 60, 120, and 180 days postpartum; and to verify the influence of anxiety on breastfeeding self-efficacy among these puerperal women. Method: an analytical, longitudinal and prospective study, conducted with 186 puerperal women, and which used a sociodemographic and obstetric characterization questionnaire, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and the Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale - Short Form. The analyses were performed by means of descriptive statistics, and Fisher’s Exact Test was used. Results: most of the puerperal women presented low levels of trait anxiety (55.4%) and of state anxiety (66.2% at 60 days, 72.8% at 120 days, and 75.5% at 180 days), and a high level of self-efficacy (77.3% at 60 days, 75.3% at 120 days, and 72.1% at 180 days of puerperium). Low levels of trait anxiety and state anxiety were associated with high self-efficacy at 60 days (p=0.0142 and p=0.0159, respectively). Conclusion: it is necessary to pay greater attention to the mental health of puerperal women, considering that those who presented low levels of anxiety had higher levels of self-efficacy, a situation that can result in longer exclusive breastfeeding.

Impact of personal and environmental factors affecting exclusive breastfeeding practices in the first six months during the COVID-19 pandemic in Thailand: a mixed-methods approach

“…Demonstrated reliability and validity [ 31 ] 0.70 The State Anxiety Inventory Form Y-1 (STAI-S) [ 32 ] 20 items, 4-point Likert scales ranging from 1 (almost never) to 4 (almost always), range 20–80, a higher score denoting a high anxiety level. Demonstrated reliability and validity [ 33 ] 0.93 Section 3 COVID-19 Vaccination Acceptability Tools [ 34 ] Part 1: 27 items (24 items about a possible COVID-19 vaccination and added 3 items on BF-related COVID-19), eleven-point scale (0–10) from "strongly disagree" to "strongly agree", range 0–270, higher scores denoting a more positive attitude Part 2: 1 item of vaccination intention, eleven-point scale (0–10) from "very unlikely" to "very likely", range 0–10, higher scores denoting higher intention for COVID-19 vaccination Demonstrated reliability and validity [ 34 ] 0.82 The Exclusive Breastfeeding Social Support Scale (EBFSS scale) [ 35 ] 16 items (assessed 3-domains of family support; emotional, informational, and instrumental support), 3-point Likert scales, ranging from 1 (no help at all), 2 (less than you would like), and 3 (as much as you would like), range 16–48, a higher score indicating stronger support for EBF. Demonstrated reliability and validity [ 35 ] 0.90 The Health Provider Support in Breastfeeding during COVID-19 (HSBF-COVID scale) [ 13 , 36 – 39 ] 15 items (assessed 4-domains of healthcare support; emotional, informational, instrumental, and appraisal support), 3-point Likert scales ranging from 1 (no help at all), 2 (less than you would like), and 3 (as much as you would like), range 15–45, higher scores indicating a higher level of health provider support for BF during pandemic 0.92 …”

The Effect of Fear of Happiness as a Cultural Phenomenon on Anxiety and Self-Efficacy in the Puerperae

“…Similarly, in studies conducted in the literature, a negative relationship was found between self-efficacy and postpartum anxiety in puerperae (Dol et al, 2021; Feligreras-Alcalá et al, 2020; Razurel et al, 2017; Reck et al, 2012). Having an adequate level of self-efficacy in the postpartum period not only affects the mother’s own mental health positively but also has a positive impact on breastfeeding, baby care, and the baby’s psychological development (Abuhammad, 2020; Melo et al, 2021; Sari & Altay, 2020). Therefore, lack of both self-efficacy and high anxiety will cause the mother not to enjoy the postpartum period and create obstacles to establishing a quality relationship with her baby.…”

“…Perceived self-efficacy is the individual’s belief in his or her capacity to organize the required actions and implement them to achieve a task. It represents the individual’s confidence in themselves (Melo et al, 2021). Powerful mother self-efficacy perceptions appear to be associated with lower anxiety (Law et al, 2019; Melo et al, 2021).…”

“…It represents the individual’s confidence in themselves (Melo et al, 2021). Powerful mother self-efficacy perceptions appear to be associated with lower anxiety (Law et al, 2019; Melo et al, 2021).…”

The relationship between national cultural dimensions, maternal anxiety and depression, and national breastfeeding rates: An analysis of data from 122 countries

“…From a mechanistic perspective, anxiety may interfere with milk production and ejection via elevations in cortisol, increased insulin resistance and reduced oxytocin release (Nagel et al, 2022), and can also impair a mother's sense of self-efficacy, leading to a loss of confidence in her ability to sustain breastfeeding over time (Corby et al, 2021;Melo et al, 2021). Anxiety during pregnancy has been linked to a lower likelihood of initiating breastfeeding (English et al, 2020), a shorter duration of breastfeeding (Riedstra and Aubuchon-Endsley, 2019;Stuebe et al, 2019), and an earlier introduction of formula feeds (Stuebe et al, 2019).…”