Abstract
Breastfeeding rates in the UK are low. Efforts to promote breastfeeding typically include the known health benefits for mother and child, many of which are not immediate. Gaining immediate benefits can be effective motivators of behaviour. Body-related changes resulting from breastfeeding could be an immediate benefit. This study explored breastfeeding mothers’ reports of body-related changes as benefits of breastfeeding. Mothers (N = 182) who currently, or had recently, breastfed an infant completed a survey detailing their infant feeding choices and the perceived benefits of breastfeeding on their bodies. Half of the mothers felt that breastfeeding had a positive effect on their body. Benefits were grouped into five themes: (1) Returning to pre-pregnancy body shape; (2) Health benefits; (3) Physical benefits; (4) Eating benefits; (5) Psychological benefits. These themes highlight the numerous body-related benefits that mothers identified as resulting from breastfeeding and suggest that immediate, personal, and appearance-related gains of breastfeeding are highly valued. These findings indicate that interventions would likely benefit from emphasising the more immediate physical and psychological benefits of breastfeeding, alongside the health and bonding benefits, as a way to promote breastfeeding initiation and continuation in more women. This may be particularly effective for groups such as young mothers, where breastfeeding rates are low and whose emphasis on body image may be greater.
Highlights
The World Health Organization [1] recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of an infant’s life and continued breastfeeding until the infant reaches two years of age.While three-quarters of UK mothers (74% in 2014/2015) initiate breastfeeding, by 6–8 weeks post-birth fewer than half (47.2%) report exclusively breastfeeding their infants [2]
While only 14% (N = 24) of mothers reported that their feeding decisions were influenced by their beliefs about the positive effects that breastfeeding might have on their body, half of the mothers (51%, N = 91) indicated that they felt breastfeeding had a positive effect on their body
This study aimed to examine the benefits of breastfeeding and the extent to which weight loss/body changes are regarded as positive and/or unanticipated benefits, as reported by mothers who are currently breastfeeding or have recently breastfed
Summary
The World Health Organization [1] recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of an infant’s life and continued breastfeeding until the infant reaches two years of age.While three-quarters of UK mothers (74% in 2014/2015) initiate breastfeeding, by 6–8 weeks post-birth fewer than half (47.2%) report exclusively breastfeeding their infants [2]. Research suggests that there are many reasons mothers choose not to initiate breastfeeding These may be related to perceptions surrounding the consequences of breastfeeding, such as pain and discomfort (e.g., [4]), a negative impact on breast shape [5], or feelings of embarrassment [6]. Of those mothers who do choose to initiate breastfeeding, many encounter problems which can lead to early cessation. Physical pain can lead to early cessation (e.g., [8]) as can emotional distress, such as depression or stress, and resultant feelings that breastfeeding is interfering with bonding.
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