Abstract
The infant’s refusal to breastfeed can be a stressful and concerning matter for a mother. This study aimed to investigate the frequency and factors leading to nursing strikes in Rafsanjan city. This descriptive study was performed on infants who had been referred to the pediatrician’s office with a complaint of a nursing strike. The research sample included 70 infants, and all the required data, including the causes of the nursing strike and the demographic information of the mother and the infant, were collected using a checklist. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 20 was used to analyze the data. The percentage was used to express qualitative indices, and the mean and standard deviation were used to express quantitative indices. The results showed that the most common factors contributing to the infants’ breast refusal were playfulness and distraction (50%) and recent vaccinations in the last 12 days (48.6%). Besides, the most common maternal factors affecting breast refusal were level of education (67.1%), recent acute stress (41.4%), and inadequate milk production (35.7%). The results of the present study showed that playfulness and distraction of the baby, recent vaccination, use of a pacifier, level of education and recent stress of the mother, breastfeeding program, and insufficient milk production are the most common reasons for nursing strikes.
Highlights
Breast milk is the best food that provides energy and most of the nutrients a child needs [1, 2]
“Exclusive breastfeeding” is defined as giving no other food or drink, not even water, except breast milk, as it provides all the vitamins and micronutrients needed by the infant
Given that more research is needed on infants’ nursing strikes, as well as the established benefits of breastfeeding in preventing malnutrition, especially in developing countries, and considering that the infant’s refusal to breastfeed is solvable, this study aims to evaluate the most probable causes of the nursing strike in infants admitted to the pediatrician’s office in Rafsanjan city
Summary
Breast milk is the best food that provides energy and most of the nutrients a child needs [1, 2]. The nursing strike can be a stressful and concerning matter for a mother, and she might take this as a personal matter and believe her child is refusing her and not the breast milk. She might think that something is missing in her milk or the milk is not insufficient for her child. A common reason for the cessation of nursing is the infant’s refusal to breastfeed. There is a need to look more closely at the possible causes of this problem to help the mother solve this difficulty and restart the mother-infant connection [8]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
