Effect of Early Initiation of Breast Feeding on the Prevention of Postpartum Depression among Puerperal Women: An Interventional Program.

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Assistant Professor of Maternal and Newborn Health Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Menoufia University, Egypt

2 PhD, Master in Mental Health Nursing, BSN, Applied Medical Science -Department of Nursing, Shaqraa University KSA.

3 Pediatric Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Port Said University, Port Said, Egypt.

4 Assistant Professor of Maternal and Newborn Health Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Menoufia University, Egypt.

5 Professor of Maternal and Newborn Health Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Menoufia University, Egypt and Professor of Maternal and Newborn Health Nursing, Al-Rayan Colleges- College of Health Science and Nursing,KSA.

Abstract

Background: Early initiation of breast-feeding produce hormones that improve the mood of the
mothers and reducing the risk of depression among them. It is one of the steps introduced by
WHO\UNICEF's Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI). Aim of the study: to evaluate the
effect of early initiation of breast-feeding on the prevention of postpartum depression among
puerperal women through an interventional program. Design: A Quasi-experimental design was
utilized. Setting: This study conducted at university hospitals in one governorate of Delta region in
Egypt. Sample: Simple random sample was used in this study. Three Instruments were used for
data collection, an interviewing questionnaire, Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), and
Checklist of early initiation of breast-feeding for the Puerperal women. Results: There was high
(SSD) related to the scores of Edin-burg scale after applying the intervention program about early
initiation of breast-feeding. In addition, there was an improvement in the scores of the women
during breast feeding steps. Conclusion: intervention program about early initiation of breast-
feeding succeeded in raising Edinburgh (EPDS) scores of puerperal women and in doing breast-
feeding early during early post-partum period. Recommendations: Encourage all women to breast
feed early as possible after labor, screening all women for postnatal depression and anxiety during
post-partum. Future studiesare recommended on a large sample of puerperal women to be able to
generalize the study results.

Keywords

Egyptian Journal of Health Care
Volume 14, Issue 1
March 2023
Pages 446-462

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