Comparison of the breastfeeding outcomes and self-efficacy in the early postpartum period of women who had given birth by cesarean under general or spinal anesthesia

Abstract

Objectives This study was conducted to compare the breastfeeding outcomes and self-efficacy in the early postpartum period of women who had given birth by cesarean under general (GA) or spinal anesthesia (SA). Methods This descriptive study was conducted with 190 women who had given birth under GA and SA at a training and research hospital. The data of the study were collected with the “Data Collection Form”, “LATCH Breastfeeding Assessment Tool” and the “Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale- Short Form (BSES-SF)”. Results The time to first breastfeeding of the newborns was 78.71 ± 126.9 min and 23.7% of the women breastfed within 30 min. Those who gave birth under SA breastfed their newborn infants statistically significantly earlier (p < .05). However, there was no statistical difference between women giving birth by cesarean under GA and SA and their score medians from the LATCH or the BSES-SF (p > .05). Conclusion The percentage of women breastfeeding their infants within the first half hour and the self-efficacy and success rate was higher among women who gave birth under SA than those who had cesarean under GA. However, breastfeeding behaviors were not at the desired level in either group. Health care professionals should therefore support women who undergo a cesarean and especially those who give birth under GA to increase their breastfeeding success and self-efficacy.