Association Between Breastfeeding Attitudes and Depression Risk of Mothers in COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study is to determine the level of breastfeeding attitude and its association with risk of depression among mothers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: In the cross-sectional analytics study, the minimum number of samples to be reached was calculated (n=327). Data were collected from 393 mothers with the Google survey method. Questionnaire Form, Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale (EPDS) and Infant Feeding Attitude Scale (IFAS) forms were used as data collection tools. Variables related to socio-demographic characteristics are shown by number and percentage distribution. The effects of categorical variables, which are thought to affect the mean scores of EPDS and IFAS, were evaluated with t-test and chi-square analysis in independent groups. The relationship between the mean scores of the scale is shown by the correlation coefficient. p<0.05 was considered significant. Results: The mean IFAS score was 65.54±6.74, and the mean EPDS score was 10.70±6.25. IFAS scores of mothers at risk for depression (64.78±6.85) were found to be significantly lower (p < 0.05) than mothers who were not at risk for depression. Conclusion: In the COVID-19 pandemic, it was determined that the breastfeeding attitudes of mothers at risk for depression were lower than those of mothers who were not at risk for depression.