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Breastfeeding-related Pain, Sensory Over-responsiveness, and Exclusive Breastfeeding at 6 Months: A Prospective
Adi Freund-Azaria1, Orit Bart2, Rivka Regev3
1Faculty of Medicine, Occupational Therapy Department, School of Health Professions, Tel-Aviv University, Ramat Aviv, Tel Aviv, Israel; Department of Neonatology, Meir Medical Center, Kfar-Saba, Israel.
Background:
Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) is recommended for the first 6 months of life, yet EBF rates at 6 months (T3) in most developed countries are low. Painful and nonpainful sensory stimuli processing is linked, and while pain has been suggested to restrict breastfeeding, its coupling with sensory over-responsiveness (SOR) in relation to breastfeeding has not yet been reported.
Objective:
We aimed to explore whether breastfeeding-related pain, SOR, and general pain sensitivity predict nonexclusive breastfeeding (NEBF) at T3.
Study Design:
In this prospective study, participants were recruited at 2 days postpartum (enrollment). For the assessment of breastfeeding-related pain, participants completed the visual analogue scale and the Short-Form McGill Pain Questionnaire at enrollment, and at 6 weeks after birth. At T3, they completed the Pain Sensitivity Questionnaire and the Sensory Responsiveness Questionnaire-Intensity Scale and then provided information about their breastfeeding status. Participants were divided into two groups accordingly: EBF and NEBF.
Results:
A total of 164 participants were reached at T3: EBF (n = 105) and NEBF (n = 59). The incidence of SOR was significantly higher among NEBF compared with EBF participants (25.4% vs. 11.4%; p = .020). Between enrollment and 6 weeks after birth, 72.3% of the EBF participants had reported a ≥30% pain reduction, compared with 44.8% of the NEBF participants (p = .001). Logistic regression modeling revealed that both breastfeeding-related pain reduction and SOR predicted NEBF at T3 (p < .001), indicating a 3.2 times (p = .001) and 2.5 times (p = .041) odds ratio for NEBF, respectively.
Conclusions:
SOR and sustained breastfeeding-related pain predict NEBF at T3 and may emerge as substantial breastfeeding barriers.
