Undoubtedly, breastfeeding babies is the best nutrition the newborns can get in the first months of life. However, for some mothers, breastfeeding is a real pain-causing issue. According to a new study, however, breastfeeding pain might negatively affect babies.
After analyzing 14 partnered and educated women living in southern Ontario who faced breastfeeding pains, the researchers concluded that mothers who feel severe pain during breastfeeding are causing their babies to feel awkward.
“For some mothers, this pain plays a role in their decision making around stopping breastfeeding earlier than they planned. We know that breastfeeding leads to better health outcomes for women and children and finding ways to help women breastfeed comfortably is a win-win for both mother and child,” explained Kimberley Jackson from the Western’s Arthur Labatt Family School of Nursing, and the new study’s leading author.
According to the official recommendations, every mom should breastfeed her infant until the age of six months but, regularly, newborns need at least one year of breastfeeding to develop correctly.
Breastfeeding Pain Might Negatively Affect Babies, A New Study Shows
The new research revealed that severe breastfeeding pain is multidimensional and that the modern-day pain measurement equipment might not precisely mirror that specific kind of pain, a fact that’s producing some difficulties for the health-care providers.
“Because of the various etiology and a lack of adequate measurement tools, health-care providers are at a loss for how to best assess this underrepresented type of pain. Having a better understanding of how women experience this pain will allow them to provide more individualized, appropriate care, which will hopefully allow women to achieve their breastfeeding goals,” added Kimberley Jackson, the leading author of this study.
The research, which was also supported by some scientists from Brock University, can be found in the Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics and Gynecology.
