Russell Megan, Lucas Ruth, Bernier Carney Katherine
School of Nursing, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut.
Hartford Hospital, Hartford, Connecticut.
J Midwifery Womens Health. 2025 Mar-Apr;70(2):315-324. doi: 10.1111/jmwh.13723. Epub 2024 Dec 18.
Although there are many known benefits of providing human milk to infants, breastfeeding-related pain is a significant reason for breastfeeding cessation. Breastfeeding-related pain is a unique experience due to breastfeeding's goal-directed purpose, repetitive nature, and socio-emotional reflections of successful parenting. Understanding how lactating parents cope with breastfeeding-related pain will inform clinical practice to encourage individuals to meet their lactation goals. The aim of this study was to evaluate how lactating parents view coping with breastfeeding-related pain to be different from coping with other types of pain.
We conducted a secondary analysis of a pilot randomized control study of a breastfeeding pain self-management intervention. Data from 57 participants who breastfed and completed self-report surveys at 1, 2, and 6 weeks postpartum were included. We employed Boyatzis' thematic analysis method to evaluate affirmative responses to "Is coping with breastfeeding pain different than coping with other pain?" We evaluated correlations between responses to coping with breastfeeding pain and pain severity scores.
We identified 3 main themes: (1) uncharted waters, (2) light at the end of the tunnel, and (3) parental role and responsibility. No significant differences were detected between the pain scores of individuals who viewed coping with breastfeeding to be different and those who did not.
Lactating parents reported an array of psychological coping strategies in response to breastfeeding-related pain. Coping processes were influenced by personal goals, parental role evaluations, and a desire to meet their infant's needs. Interventions during prenatal and postpartum care that incorporate individualized coping strategies could support breastfeeding goal attainment.
尽管给婴儿提供母乳有诸多已知益处，但与母乳喂养相关的疼痛却是导致停止母乳喂养的一个重要原因。由于母乳喂养具有目标导向性、重复性以及成功育儿的社会情感反映，与母乳喂养相关的疼痛是一种独特的体验。了解哺乳期父母如何应对与母乳喂养相关的疼痛将为临床实践提供信息，以鼓励个体实现其哺乳目标。本研究的目的是评估哺乳期父母认为应对与母乳喂养相关的疼痛与应对其他类型疼痛有何不同。
我们对一项母乳喂养疼痛自我管理干预的试点随机对照研究进行了二次分析。纳入了57名在产后1周、2周和6周进行母乳喂养并完成自我报告调查的参与者的数据。我们采用博亚齐斯的主题分析方法来评估对“应对母乳喂养疼痛与应对其他疼痛是否不同？”这一问题的肯定回答。我们评估了应对母乳喂养疼痛的回答与疼痛严重程度评分之间的相关性。
我们确定了3个主要主题：（1）未知领域，（2）隧道尽头的曙光，（3）父母的角色与责任。认为应对母乳喂养不同的个体与不这样认为的个体之间的疼痛评分未发现显著差异。
哺乳期父母报告了一系列应对与母乳喂养相关疼痛的心理应对策略。应对过程受到个人目标、父母角色评估以及满足婴儿需求愿望的影响。在产前和产后护理中纳入个性化应对策略的干预措施可以支持实现母乳喂养目标。
