Impact of Papaya (Carica papaya L.) on Breast Milk Production Enhancement of Nursing Mothers at Teling Atas Public Health Center, Wanea Subdistrict, Manado City

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Papaya fruit which is a type of fruit that has high nutritional content and is rich in health benefits, one of the benefits is to increase breast milk production. Papaya is a fruit that contains galactagogue, a substance that can help increase and improve breast milk production. AIM: This study aimed to determine papaya fruit’s effect on breast milk production in nursing mothers at Teling Atas Public Health Center, Wanea Subdistrict, Manado City, Indonesia. METHODS: The research method was the pre-experimental method using a before and after intervention design to one group. The study population was all breastfeeding mothers whose babies were aged 0–6 months per June 2019 and a sample size of 14 categorized less breastfeeding, namely, babies often cry; restless baby; the color of the feces dark brown; consistency of solid feces; the baby’s mouth and eyes appear dry; dark yellow urine; and baby’s weight decreases. The intervention group, namely, getting 200 g of papaya 3 times a day, and given for 7 days (1 week). Data analysis is the Wilcoxon Test. RESULTS: Most respondents were less breastfeeding before consuming papaya, about 71.43%. Nursing mothers before and after being given papaya for 7 days increased by 4.1. The mean value before the intervention was 2.21, and after the intervention, the level of milk production increase to 6.36. There was a significant difference in the level of milk production before and after papaya intervention (p = 0.001). CONCLUSION: Consuming papaya fruit effectively enhanced breast milk production in nursing mothers.