Relationship between Attitude towards Breastfeeding and Postpartum Depression in Kerman, Iran

Breastfeeding and mother-infant physical contact play an essential role in the mother's emotional recovery and readjustment. The present study aimed to investigate the association between attitude toward breastfeeding and postpartum depression. The present descriptive cross-sectional and analytical study was conducted on 200 females with postpartum depression referred to rural and urban health centers, Kerman, Iran. The selection was carried out using the convenience sampling method. The mothers who met the inclusion criteria and had the willingness to participate were included in the study. They were called, and if they had inclusion criteria, they were asked to refer to health centers. Data were collected using a questionnaire about baseline characteristics and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). This study showed that there was no special baseline effect on total attitude and aspect of depression. The results showed a significant negative relationship of total attitude with anxiety (r=-0.213, p=0.003), depression (r=-0.163, p=0.022), and anhedonia (r=-0.213, p=0.003). There were the strongest and the weakest relationship between anhedonia and depression (r=0.567, p<0.001), and between total attitude and depression (r=-0.163, p=0.022), respectively. According to the results of the independent t-test, a significant relationship was observed between scores of depression and total attitude, which means that females with depression had a more negative attitude (p<0.001). The results of this study documented the relationship between the attitude towards breastfeeding with postpartum depression and anxiety.