The Doctor José Molina Orosa University Hospital and the University Hospital of the Canary Islands (HUC), attached to the Canary Health Service (SCS) of the Ministry of Health of the Government of the Canary Islands, have participated in a study carried out by a midwife from the hospital center of Lanzarote, which determines the factors to prolong breastfeeding.
The results of this research, in which 272 first-time mothers have participated, have recently been published in the scientific journal Midwifery, an international leader in obstetrics and maternal health.
The study led by midwives Coral Castro and Aythami González, under the direction of Marta Díaz and José Miguel Díaz, professors at the University of La Laguna (ULL), analyzes the scale used to measure the self-efficacy of mothers in breastfeeding, known as BSES-SF for its name in English (Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale-Short Form), and has identified three key components: safety in breastfeeding, competence to face it and overcome possible difficulties, and motivation to breastfeed.
The research recorded the type of breastfeeding performed by the mothers of both hospitals, the self-efficacy scale in breastfeeding and other socio-demographic and clinical variables at 48 hours after delivery, and at three and six months after delivery.
The results show that safety and competence in breastfeeding increase over time, especially in those who maintain exclusive breastfeeding. In particular, competence is the factor that best predicts its prolongation up to six months. The identification of these components allows an individualized evaluation of each mother's profile, and facilitates healthcare professionals in the design of interventions focused on prolonging breastfeeding, adjusted to each woman.
The research concludes that support strategies should focus on mothers with a higher risk of early abandonment, offering personalized interventions to strengthen their confidence and skills in breastfeeding.
Breastfeeding protects health
Breast milk is the best food for infants during the first months of life and promotes and protects the health of mothers and babies. The World Health Organization maintains the objective, still unachieved, that at least 50 percent of newborns receive exclusive breastfeeding until six months.
Studies such as the one developed in the two public hospitals of the SCS analyze and identify the factors that influence the initiation and maintenance of breastfeeding and contribute to designing strategies from the health field to achieve the WHO proposal and increase exclusive breastfeeding rates.