Factors Related to Perceived Insufficient Milk Supply Among First-time Mothers with Cesarean Section

Abstract

Breastfeeding benefits all infants, mothers, society, and nation. Insufficient milk supply is    a major cause for cessation of breastfeeding. The purpose of this descriptive correlational research study was to explore factors related to perceived insufficient milk supply among      first-time mothers with cesarean section which consisted of knowledge of breastfeeding, time to initial breastfeeding, infant breastfeeding behavior and volume of milk transferred. The samples included 85 first-time postpartum mothers who have had a cesarean section and were admitted at the obstetric wards from January to March 2018 at Mukdahan Hospital. The participants were selected on the basis of inclusion criteria. The research instruments consist of 1) the Breastfeeding Knowledge Questionnaire developed by Narinthip Anuntakulnthee (Anuntakulnthee, 2015), 2) the Infant Breastfeeding Assessment tool (IBFAT) developed by Matthews (1988) and modified by Laddawan Chitkow (1999), 3) the Milk Expression Assessment developed by Raweewan Niwattayakul (2005), and 4) the H & H Lactation Scale developed by Hill & Humenick (1996) translated into Thai by Manassawee Srimoragot, Kannika Kantaruksa, & Nonglak Chaloumsuk (2017). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, the Pearson’s correlation coefficient, and the Spearman’s correlation coefficient.

Results of the study indicated that almost all of the first-time mothers (96.47%) who have had a cesarean section had knowledge of breastfeeding at a high level, 71.80% initially breastfed for 2-3 hours, 49.40% perceived efficiency of infant breastfeeding behavior at a moderate level, 45.88% had a volume of milk transferred at a moderate level, and 61.20% had a perception of insufficient milk supply at a low level. There was no statistically significant correlation between knowledge of breastfeeding, time to initial breastfeeding of a newborn infant, and infant breastfeeding behavior and the perception of insufficient milk supply. There was no statistically significant correlation between and the perception of an insufficient milk supply.

Based on this study, it could be used as baseline information to encourage first-time mothers who have had a cesarean section to breastfeed successfully.