Department of Clinical Genetics, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Breastfeed Med. 2019 Oct;14(8):568-574. doi: 10.1089/bfm.2019.0023. Epub 2019 Jul 16.
Breastfeeding can be challenging for new mothers. Women with high breastfeeding self-efficacy are more likely to breastfeed with confidence and are more likely to succeed in breastfeeding. The aim of this prospective longitudinal study was to test whether breastfeeding self-efficacy and breastfeeding experiences were related to trajectories of self-efficacy in the parenting domain during the transition to parenthood. A group of 1,091 primiparous women completed questionnaires at 32 weeks of gestation (maternal self-efficacy) and 3 months after giving birth (maternal self-efficacy, breastfeeding self-efficacy, and breastfeeding experiences). Only the women who started breastfeeding and completed questionnaires at both time points were included in the analyses ( = 817). High breastfeeding self-efficacy significantly predicted increased maternal self-efficacy through the transition to parenthood. A successful breastfeeding experience fully explained this effect. The mediating effect of positive breastfeeding experiences on the relationship of breastfeeding self-efficacy and the change of maternal self-efficacy during the transition to parenthood implies breastfeeding to be an early target to enhance maternal self-efficacy. By pointing out breastfeeding as a genuine challenge during prenatal maternity courses, it might prepare mothers for one of their first experiences of parenthood. As a result, successful breastfeeding could be a steppingstone from positive prenatal expectations to growing confidence as a parent.
母乳喂养对新妈妈来说可能具有挑战性。母乳喂养自我效能感高的女性更有可能自信地进行母乳喂养，并更有可能成功进行母乳喂养。本前瞻性纵向研究的目的是检验母乳喂养自我效能感和母乳喂养经历是否与向父母身份过渡期间育儿领域自我效能感的轨迹相关。
一组 1091 名初产妇在妊娠 32 周（产妇自我效能感）和分娩后 3 个月（产妇自我效能感、母乳喂养自我效能感和母乳喂养经历）完成了问卷调查。仅纳入在两个时间点开始母乳喂养并完成问卷调查的女性（n=817）。
高母乳喂养自我效能感显著预测了向父母身份过渡期间产妇自我效能感的增加。成功的母乳喂养经历完全解释了这种效果。积极的母乳喂养经历对母乳喂养自我效能感与向父母身份过渡期间产妇自我效能感变化之间关系的中介效应表明，母乳喂养是增强产妇自我效能感的早期目标。通过在产前孕妇课程中指出母乳喂养是一个真正的挑战，这可能会让母亲为她们作为父母的第一次经历之一做好准备。因此，成功的母乳喂养可以成为从积极的产前期望到成长为自信父母的垫脚石。
