TY - JOUR
T1 - Exclusive Breastfeeding Duration and Perceptions of Infant Sleep
T2 - The Mediating Role of Postpartum Anxiety
AU - Davies, Siân M.
AU - Todd-Leonida, Bethany F.
AU - Fallon, Victoria
AU - Silverio, Sergio A.
N1 - Funding Information:
Conflicts of Interest: Sergio A. Silverio (King’s College London) is currently supported by the National Institute for Health Research Applied Research Collaboration South London [NIHR ARC South London] at King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care. No conflicts of interest or competing interests have been declared by any author.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
PY - 2022/4/8
Y1 - 2022/4/8
N2 - (1) Background: Existing literature has identified associations between exclusive breast-feeding, maternal mental health, and infant sleep. This study aims to examine these relationships simultaneously and consider the mediating role of postpartum anxiety. (2) Methods: Participants completed validated measures of postpartum anxiety, infant sleep, and reported exclusive breast-feeding duration. Postpartum mothers with infants between six and twelve months (n = 470) were recruited to a cross-sectional online survey containing a battery of psychological measures. (3) Re-sults: Correlation analyses examined the relationships between the predictor (exclusive breastfeeding duration), outcome (perceptions of infant sleep), and mediator (postpartum anxiety). Exclusive breastfeeding duration was significantly associated with postpartum anxiety (p < 0.05), postpartum anxiety was significantly associated with perceptions of infant sleep (p < 0.001), and exclusive breastfeeding duration was significantly associated with perceptions of infant sleep (p < 0.001). A simple mediation model was conducted, showing a significant total (B = −0.029 (0.010), p < 0.05), direct (B = −0.035 (0.009), p < 0.001), and indirect effect (B = 0.007, SE = 0.003, 95% CI = 0.000 to 0.014) of exclusive breastfeeding duration on perceptions of infant sleep via postpartum anxiety. (4) Conclusions: Associations were identified between exclusive breastfeeding duration, postpartum anxiety, and perceptions of infant sleep. The mediation model suggests postpartum anxiety may be an underlying mechanism which reduces exclusive breastfeeding duration and negatively affects maternal perceptions of infant sleep quality.
AB - (1) Background: Existing literature has identified associations between exclusive breast-feeding, maternal mental health, and infant sleep. This study aims to examine these relationships simultaneously and consider the mediating role of postpartum anxiety. (2) Methods: Participants completed validated measures of postpartum anxiety, infant sleep, and reported exclusive breast-feeding duration. Postpartum mothers with infants between six and twelve months (n = 470) were recruited to a cross-sectional online survey containing a battery of psychological measures. (3) Re-sults: Correlation analyses examined the relationships between the predictor (exclusive breastfeeding duration), outcome (perceptions of infant sleep), and mediator (postpartum anxiety). Exclusive breastfeeding duration was significantly associated with postpartum anxiety (p < 0.05), postpartum anxiety was significantly associated with perceptions of infant sleep (p < 0.001), and exclusive breastfeeding duration was significantly associated with perceptions of infant sleep (p < 0.001). A simple mediation model was conducted, showing a significant total (B = −0.029 (0.010), p < 0.05), direct (B = −0.035 (0.009), p < 0.001), and indirect effect (B = 0.007, SE = 0.003, 95% CI = 0.000 to 0.014) of exclusive breastfeeding duration on perceptions of infant sleep via postpartum anxiety. (4) Conclusions: Associations were identified between exclusive breastfeeding duration, postpartum anxiety, and perceptions of infant sleep. The mediation model suggests postpartum anxiety may be an underlying mechanism which reduces exclusive breastfeeding duration and negatively affects maternal perceptions of infant sleep quality.
KW - exclusive breastfeeding
KW - postpartum anxiety
KW - perceptions of infant sleep
KW - mediation analysis
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85127699155&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/ijerph19084494
DO - 10.3390/ijerph19084494
M3 - Article
SN - 1660-4601
VL - 19
SP - 1
JO - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
JF - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
IS - 8
ER -
