Positive emotion interventions as a non-pharmacological approach to boost colostrum secretion: a randomized
Li Ding1, Mei He1, Yingying Zhu1
1Department of Nursing, the Fourth Affiliated Hospital of School of Medicine, and International School of Medicine, International Institutes of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Yiwu, 322000, China.
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Pregnancy emotional states can influence postpartum colostrum delivery, and lactational capacity establishes 1-5 days postpartum. Breast milk production capacity is key to promoting breastfeeding. This study applied positive psychology interventions to late-pregnancy primiparous women, aiming to explore how emotional regulation affects postpartum lactation-related hormone changes and in-hospital breastfeeding outcomes. Participants were recruited from a gynecology and obstetrics hospital in China. Positive writing interventions were delivered via WeChat electronic questionnaires: the control group recorded "first three things" and the intervention group "three good things," twice weekly. Key outcomes (lactation hormones, neonatal milk consumption, breastfeeding outcomes) were collected, and generalized estimating equations (GEE) were used to analyze repeated-measurement data. Jan-Aug 2022, 204 (95 intervention, 109 control) were finally analyzed after excluding dropouts. GEE analysis showed the intervention group had a significantly higher resilience score than the control group (15.55 vs. 15.01; Wald χ2 = 4.53, P = 0.033). No significant differences were found between groups in anxiety, depression, positive affect and negative affect schedule (PANAS) scores, or breastfeeding scores. Post-delivery, prolactin (PRL) levels differed significantly between groups (P = 0.031), but insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) levels did not (P > 0.05). Breastfeeding behavior effects also showed no inter-group differences. This study shows the positive psychological intervention based on the "three good things" approach can effectively increase primiparous women's psychological resilience and promote prolactin secretion, but has no significant effect on breastfeeding behaviors. Additionally, the intervention tends to improve their postnatal positive emotions and reduce anxiety and negative emotions. This study provides clinical evidence for promoting colostrum secretion via prenatal positive psychology interventions.