Abstract

BackgroundThe current breastfeeding initiation rate in Canada is approximately 87%. By one month, about 21% of women have stopped breastfeeding. Engorgement and edema in breast tissue can lead to breastfeeding challenges which may contribute to early weaning. The aims of this pilot research study were to explore the relationship between intrapartum intravenous fluids given to mothers and postpartum breast swelling in the first 10 days postpartum and to determine if a larger study was warranted and feasible.MethodsA prospective, longitudinal, observational cohort pilot study with repeated measures and a within-subjects design was completed. Participants were first time mothers who have a single, healthy newborn and had a spontaneous vaginal birth. Daily data collection from admission into the study until postpartum day 10 took place. Descriptive statistics are reported and linear regression analysis was used to model the relationship between IV therapy and postpartum breast edema.ResultsWomen who received intravenous fluids during labour had higher levels of breast edema postpartum and rated their breasts as firmer and more tender than women who did not receive intravenous fluids. Participants who had intravenous fluids described patterns of fullness that appeared to be related to edema as opposed to fullness associated with engorgement and lactogenesis II.ConclusionsThe findings demonstrate that mothers in this pilot study who received intravenous fluids in labour and postpartum had higher levels of breast edema. These results suggest a larger study is warranted to more fully examine the effects of intravenous fluids on postpartum breast swelling.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13006-015-0043-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Highlights

  • The current breastfeeding initiation rate in Canada is approximately 87%

  • Breastfeeding initiation rates in Canada are currently about 87.3% but 21.4% of women stop breastfeeding by one month [1,2]

  • Postpartum breast engorgement and breast edema are two forms of postpartum breast swelling which can contribute to sore breasts and nipple trauma [3,4]

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Summary

Introduction

The current breastfeeding initiation rate in Canada is approximately 87%. By one month, about 21% of women have stopped breastfeeding. Engorgement and edema in breast tissue can lead to breastfeeding challenges which may contribute to early weaning. The aims of this pilot research study were to explore the relationship between intrapartum intravenous fluids given to mothers and postpartum breast swelling in the first 10 days postpartum and to determine if a larger study was warranted and feasible. Breastfeeding initiation rates in Canada are currently about 87.3% but 21.4% of women stop breastfeeding by one month [1,2]. Postpartum breast swelling may contribute to breast and nipple pain, nipple damage, breast infections, and may be one of the reasons women stop breastfeeding [3,4]. Breast swelling may cause difficulties for babies trying to latch due to swollen breast tissue not being supple enough to achieve a deep latch and feed without causing nipple damage [7,8], may reduce the amount of milk a baby transfers at breast [9], and may decrease long term milk supply [3]

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