Abstract
This study is a preliminary investigation of the effects on breast-feeding and cessation of breast-feeding on maternal health. A self-report questionnaire assessed overall health, mood, stress, and psychological and upper respiratory infection symptoms in 14 current, 36 never, and 49 past breast-feeders. Results indicated that breast-feeding did not incur greater health costs to the mother compared with bottle-feeding and that cessation of breast-feeding was associated with worse mood, more stress, and a greater number of psychological symptoms compared with current breast-feeding. Physiological mechanisms, as opposed to personality factors, are discussed as a basis for these findings.
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This research was supported by the National Science Foundation Minority Postdoctoral Fellowship SBR-9308053.
I thank the staff of the Mid-Suffolk Pediatrics Associates for their assistance in this project, Richard Sloan and Edward Kalkin for their comments on an earlier draft, and Robert Kelsey and Emilia Bagiella for their assistance with the statistical procedures. Special thanks to Lucia Mezzacappa for her guidance on this work.
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Mezzacappa, E.S. A preliminary study of the effects of breast-feeding on maternal health. Int. J. Behav. Med. 4, 230–241 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327558ijbm0403_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327558ijbm0403_3