UCL Anthropology, University College London, 14 Taviton Street, London WC1H 0BW, UK.
BirthRites Independent Max Planck Research Group, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany.
Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2021 Jun 21;376(1827):20200034. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0034. Epub 2021 May 3.
Social support is a known determinant of breastfeeding behaviour and is generally considered beneficial. However, social support encompasses a myriad of different supportive acts, providing scope for diverse infant feeding outcomes. Given the vulnerability of postpartum mental health, this paper aims to explore both how support prolongs breastfeeding and which forms of support promote the positive experience of all infant feeding. Using survey data collected online from 515 UK mothers with infants aged 0-108 weeks, Cox regression models assessed the relationship between receiving different types of support, support need and breastfeeding duration. Quasi-binomial logistic regression models assessed the relationship between receiving support, infant feeding mode and maternal experience of infant feeding. Rates of negative infant feeding experience indicate the widespread need for support: e.g. 38% of currently, 47% of no longer and 31% of never breastfeeding women found infant feeding stressful. Overall, practical support via infant feeding broadly predicted shorter breastfeeding durations and poorer feeding experience; results in relation to other forms of support were more complex. Our findings indicate different forms of support have different associations with infant feeding experience. They also highlight the wide range of individuals beyond the nuclear family on which postpartum mothers in the UK rely. This article is part of the theme issue 'Multidisciplinary perspectives on social support and maternal-child health'.
社会支持是母乳喂养行为的已知决定因素，通常被认为是有益的。然而，社会支持涵盖了无数不同的支持行为，为不同的婴儿喂养结果提供了空间。鉴于产后心理健康的脆弱性，本文旨在探讨支持如何延长母乳喂养时间，以及哪些形式的支持促进了所有婴儿喂养的积极体验。本研究使用从英国 515 名 0-108 周大婴儿的母亲在线收集的调查数据，通过 Cox 回归模型评估了接受不同类型支持、支持需求和母乳喂养持续时间之间的关系。拟二项逻辑回归模型评估了接受支持、婴儿喂养模式和母亲对婴儿喂养体验之间的关系。负面婴儿喂养体验的发生率表明广泛需要支持：例如，目前正在母乳喂养的女性中有 38%、不再母乳喂养的女性中有 47%、从未母乳喂养的女性中有 31%认为婴儿喂养有压力。总体而言，通过婴儿喂养提供的实际支持普遍预测母乳喂养持续时间较短和喂养体验较差；与其他形式的支持相关的结果则更为复杂。我们的研究结果表明，不同形式的支持与婴儿喂养体验有不同的关联。它们还强调了英国产后母亲依赖的不仅仅是核心家庭的广泛人群。本文是“社会支持和母婴健康的多学科视角”主题特刊的一部分。
