Birth Satisfaction and Breastfeeding Attitudes Among Mothers Aged 35 and Older

Background/Objectives: Delayed motherhood is becoming increasingly common, yet limited evidence exists on birth satisfaction and breastfeeding attitudes among women aged ≥35. In this study, the hypothesis was tested whether higher birth satisfaction and stronger social support are associated with more positive breastfeeding attitudes and if previous childbirth experience moderates these relationships. Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted among 148 Polish women up to 12 months postpartum. Participants were recruited via social media and parenting-related online communities; the survey was disseminated across multiple online channels to enhance representativeness and reduce potential sampling bias. Eligibility included age ≥35 at childbirth and informed consent. The sample size was considered adequate based on recommendations for regression models with the number of included predictors. Validated tools were used (MSPSS, IIFAS-Pol, BSS-R PL). Assumptions for Pearson's correlation coefficients and linear regression (normality, homoscedasticity, absence of multicollinearity) were checked prior to analyses. The analysis was performed using IBM SPSS Statistics 29 (IBM Corp., Armonk, New York, NY, USA). Results: Women aged ≥35 reported high birth satisfaction and generally positive breastfeeding attitudes. Among multiparous women, birth satisfaction was moderately positively associated with breastfeeding attitudes (BSS-R PL; r = 0.396, p < 0.01), and perceived social support showed a small but significant association (MSPSS; r = 0.249, p < 0.05). Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that, in women over 35 with a subsequent child, psychosocial variables significantly predicted breastfeeding attitudes, whereas the control model-including education, socioeconomic status, and delivery mode-was not significant. Adding birth satisfaction and perceived social support improved model fit (R² = 0.194), with birth satisfaction emerging as the only significant predictor (β = 0.31). The corresponding effect size (f² = 0.143) indicated a near-medium effect. In contrast, neither the control nor the extended model was significant among primiparous women, suggesting no meaningful associations in this group. Conclusions: Higher birth satisfaction and perceived social support may promote more favorable breastfeeding attitudes in women becoming mothers at ≥35, with stronger effects among multiparous mothers. These findings highlight the need for individualized prenatal education, enhanced psychosocial support, partner involvement and efforts to improve childbirth experiences. Interventions tailored to women entering motherhood at an advanced maternal age are warranted.