ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To determine the type and frequency of medication taken by breast-feeding women and to evaluate the effects of maternal anxiety related to medication during lactation on the breast-feeding rate. METHODS: From April 15 to May 15 2003, we conducted a survey with a prepared questionnaire on ninety-one mothers who visited the obstetric clinics of Samsung Cheil hospital at eight weeks after delivery. The questionnaire contained information about parity, mode of delivery, whether to feed breast-milk, and the type and frequency of medicinal exposure. We also asked the degree of perceived adverse effects on her baby associated with maternal medication using 10cm visual analogue scale. RESULTS: The mean age of respondents was thirty-one years and the mean number of children born to the respondents was 1.3. At the eighth week after delivery the breast-feeding rate was 65.9%. The breast-feeding rate was not related to maternal age or the number of children but rather, the mode of delivery, which was 76.9% in NSVD, 70.0% in vaginal delivery with labor induction and 50% in cesarean delivery(P<0.05). The frequency of maternal medication intake during lactation was 50%. The most frequent type of medicine was herb medicine (36.7%). The average score of perceived adverse effect on a respondent's baby during breast-feeding was about 49% in total, which was 46.5% in NSVD, 48.9% in vaginal delivery with labor induction, and 51.2% in cesarean delivery. CONCLUSION: Most nursing mothers think that their medications during lactation affect adversely their babies, who, in turn, may be associated with the decrease of breast-feeding rate.