INTERRELATIONSHIP OF INFORMATION, ANXIETY, NETWORK AND MILK PRODUCTION DURING EARLY BREASTFEEDING AND EFFECT ON CONTINUATION.
Contributors: University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Published: 1987
Number of pages: 92
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.
Description: The period of early breastfeeding is marked by rapid change in multiple domains. This research utilized four developmental domains, biological, cognitive, affective, and social, to describe early breastfeeding and subsequent continuation of breastfeeding.

Two questions formed the basis of this study. First, what is the interrelationship of maternal information about breastfeeding, state anxiety about breastfeeding, total network regarding breastfeeding and milk production during early breastfeeding? Second, what is the effect of the interrelationship on continuation of breastfeeding?.

Subjects were 60 primiparous mothers, who completed an uncomplicated term gestation with a normal vaginal delivery and infant birthweight greater than 5.5 lbs. Subjects completed three questionnaires at 48 to 72 hours after delivery; the Breastfeeding Information Test, the Spielberger State Anxiety Inventory, and the Total Network Subscale of the Norbeck Social Support Questionnaire specific to breastfeeding support. Milk production was measured by test weighing of the infant before and after the morning feeding. Continuation at 2 and 4 weeks postpartum was determined through a follow-up phone interview.

A significant discriminant function was found at 4 weeks, $\chi\sp2$ = 15.23, p =.004. This function classified cases with a 73% accuracy. Primary variables distinguishing between groups were information and network.

Conclusions were (a) information, anxiety, network, and milk production produced a significant discriminant function indicating a significant interrelationship present during early breastfeeding, (b) the interrelationship was effective in classifying mothers who continued and did not continue breastfeeding, (c) most mothers demonstrated high information about breastfeeding with mothers who continued having higher information than those who did not continue breastfeeding, (d) most mothers had low anxiety about breastfeeding and mothers who continued breastfeeding had lower anxiety than those who did not continue breastfeeding, (e) wide variation existed in total network with mothers who continued having higher network scores, and (f) most mothers had low milk production during hospitalization, and mothers who continued had higher production than those not continuing breastfeeding.

Recommendations are (a) support for breastfeeding should be directed toward assistance during the early period, (b) nursing education should continue to include content on breastfeeding with emphasis on assessments in all domains, (c) further studies on breastfeeding support should be conducted.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 48-08, Section: B, page: 2260.

Thesis (D.S.N.)--UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM, 1987.

School code: 0005.