The impact of COVID-19 on breastfeeding rates: An international cross-sectional study.
Midwifery
; 120: 103631, 2023 May.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2230205
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Breastfeeding promotes children's health and is associated with positive effects to maternal physical and mental health. Uncertainties regarding SARS-CoV-2 transmission led to worries experienced by women and health professionals which impacted breastfeeding plans. We aimed to investigate the impact of self-reported and country-specific factors on breastfeeding rates during the COVID-19 pandemic.METHODS:
This study is part of a broader international prospective cohort study about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on perinatal mental health (Riseup-PPD-COVID-19). We analysed data from 5612 women, across 12 countries. Potential covariates of breastfeeding (sociodemographic, perinatal, physical/mental health, professional perinatal care, changes in healthcare due to the pandemic, COVID-19 related, breastfeeding support, governmental containment measures and countries' inequality levels) were studied by Generalized Linear Mixed-Effects Models.RESULTS:
A model encompassing all covariates of interest explained 24% of the variance of breastfeeding rates across countries (first six months postpartum). Overall, first child (ß = -0.27), age of the child (ß = -0.29), preterm birth (ß = -0.52), admission to the neonatal/pediatric care (ß = -0.44), lack of breastfeeding support (ß = -0.18), current psychiatric treatment (ß = -0.69) and inequality (ß = -0.71) were negatively associated with breastfeeding (p < .001). Access to postnatal support groups was positively associated with breastfeeding (ß = 0.59; p < .001). In countries with low-inequality, governmental measures to contain virus transmission had a deleterious effect on breastfeeding (ß = -0.16; p < .05) while access to maternity leave protected breastfeeding (ß = 0.50; p < .001).DISCUSSION:
This study shows that mother's COVID-19 diagnosis and changes in healthcare and birth/postnatal plans did not influence breastfeeding rates. Virtual support groups help women manage breastfeeding, particularly when their experiencing a first child and for those under psychiatric treatment. The complex associations between covariates and breastfeeding vary across countries, suggesting the need to define context-specific measures to support breastfeeding.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Premature Birth
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Cohort study
/
Diagnostic study
/
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
/
Randomized controlled trials
Limits:
Child
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Infant, Newborn
/
Pregnancy
Language:
English
Journal:
Midwifery
Journal subject:
Nursing
/
Obstetrics
Year:
2023
Document Type:
Article
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