T.H. Chan School of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA.
Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA.
J Womens Health (Larchmt). 2022 Jun;31(6):787-807. doi: 10.1089/jwh.2021.0504. Epub 2022 Apr 18.
Breastfeeding has many positive effects on the health of infants and mothers, however, the effect of breastfeeding on maternal mental health is largely unknown. The goal of this systematic review was to (1) synthesize the existing literature on the effects of breastfeeding on maternal mental health, and (2) inform breastfeeding recommendations. A literature search was conducted in electronic databases using search terms related to breastfeeding ( breastfeeding, infant feeding practices) and mental health conditions ( mental illness, anxiety, depression), resulting in 1,110 records. After reviewing article titles and abstracts, 339 articles were advanced to full-text review. Fifty-five articles were included in the final analysis. Thirty-six studies reported significant relationships between breastfeeding and maternal mental health outcomes, namely symptoms of postpartum depression and anxiety: 29 found that breastfeeding is associated with fewer mental health symptoms, one found it was associated with more, and six reported a mixed association between breastfeeding and mental health. Five studies found that breastfeeding challenges were associated with a higher risk of negative mental health symptoms. Overall, breastfeeding was associated with improved maternal mental health outcomes. However, with challenges or a discordance between breastfeeding expectations and actual experience, breastfeeding was associated with negative mental health outcomes. Breastfeeding recommendations should be individualized to take this into account. Further research, specifically examining the breastfeeding experiences of women who experienced mental health conditions, is warranted to help clinicians better personalize breastfeeding and mental health counseling.
母乳喂养对婴儿和母亲的健康有许多积极影响，但母乳喂养对母亲心理健康的影响在很大程度上尚不清楚。本系统评价的目的是：(1)综合现有关于母乳喂养对母亲心理健康影响的文献；(2)为母乳喂养建议提供信息。通过与母乳喂养(母乳喂养、婴儿喂养行为)和心理健康状况(精神疾病、焦虑、抑郁)相关的检索词，在电子数据库中进行了文献检索，共检索到 1110 条记录。在审查文章标题和摘要后，有 339 篇文章进入全文审查。最终有 55 篇文章被纳入最终分析。36 项研究报告了母乳喂养与母亲心理健康结果之间存在显著关系，即产后抑郁和焦虑症状：29 项研究发现母乳喂养与较少的心理健康症状相关，1 项研究发现母乳喂养与更多的心理健康症状相关，6 项研究报告母乳喂养与心理健康之间存在混合关联。五项研究发现母乳喂养的挑战与负面心理健康症状的风险增加有关。总体而言，母乳喂养与改善母亲心理健康结果相关。然而，由于母乳喂养的期望与实际经验之间存在挑战或不匹配，母乳喂养与负面心理健康结果相关。母乳喂养建议应个体化，以考虑到这一点。需要进一步的研究，特别是检查经历心理健康状况的妇女的母乳喂养经验，以帮助临床医生更好地个性化母乳喂养和心理健康咨询。
