ArticleFrontiers in public health2024
Perceived pressure to breastfeed negatively impacts postpartum mental health outcomes over time.
Article in Frontiers in public health, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Associations of physical activity during pregnancy with antenatal and postpartum depression: a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2026Pooled it
- Effectiveness of structured lactation support and human donor milk banking in German NICUs: a stepped-wedge cluster-randomized trial.BMC medicine · 2026Trial
- Barriers to breastfeeding and targeted breastfeeding social transfer programs in São Paulo, Brazil: a qualitative study.International breastfeeding journal · 2026Article
- Breastfeeding Should Not Be a Privilege.Annals of family medicine · 2026Article
- Breastfeeding Practices, Insomnia Symptoms, Anxiety, and Depression Among Lebanese Mothers: A Cross-Sectional Study.Food science & nutrition · 2026Article
- Supporting Breastfeeding in Early Childhood Education and Care Settings in Italy: A Relational and Cultural Analysis of Maternal and Educator Perspectives.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Pressure to breastfeed among mothers of infants in Poland. A cross-sectional study.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Development and psychometric evaluation of a postpartum stress scale in early postpartum mothers.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Prevalence and influencing factors of perinatal depression across different stages of pregnancy and postpartum: a cross-sectional study in China.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Gender Bias and Discrimination in Healthcare as Experienced by Basque Women and Gender Non-normative Individuals in the Basque Country.Global qualitative nursing researchArticle
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Introduction: Positive maternal mental health is associated with improved outcomes for infants, and yet the consideration of maternal mental health is often neglected in breastfeeding interventions. Breastfeeding interventions typically focus on breastfeeding promotion, and do not always include supports for the mother. This may result in isolated perceived pressure to breastfeed, the mental health impacts of which are not well understood. Methods: This mixed-methods, longitudinal study examined whether perceived pressure to breastfeed was associated with depression, suicide ideation, anxiety, birth trauma and stress concurrently and 4 weeks later for postpartum mothers. It also examined qualitative experiences of feeding. Results: Perceived pressure to breastfeed was associated with increased anxiety, stress and birth trauma symptoms four weeks later. Thematic analysis suggested this may be due to difficulties living up to the "breast is best" ideal, believing breastfeeding was part of success as a mother, lack of choices and autonomy in feeding choices for infants and general lack of support. Discussion: As such it appears we may be doing more harm than good by focusing our interventions for breastfeeding primarily on increasing pressure to breastfeed, and interventions should consider strategies for promoting positive maternal mental health alongside breastfeeding.
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