Evaluation of mother’s stress during hospitalization can influence the breastfeeding rate. Experience in intensive and non intensive departments

A mother's milk offers several benefits to infant's health, but, some factors may lead to a reduction in the duration of breastfeeding, such as maternal stress. The objective of our study is to determine if the rate of breastfeeding can be influenced by stress induced by infants' hospitalization. A preliminary observational non-randomized study was carried out in Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital between October 2016 and January 2017, in order to elucidate a possible relationship between breastfeeding and maternal stress, linked to hospitalization. We modeled the modified version of the PSS NICU (Parental Stressor Scale-neonatal intensive care unit) questionnaire, which investigated parental stress during hospitalization. This included 33 items with a score from 0 to 5. The overall score, high stress, was established at 85 points or higher. The principal statistically significant correlation was between 'high PSS score' and reduced breastfeeding during hospitalization (p-value: 0.048; OR: 2.865, 95%; CI: 1.008-8.146). This relation was not influenced by other descriptive characteristics of the mother. The PSS questionnaire can be an instrument to evaluate the influence of stress in breastfeeding and to monitor the rate and success of lactation. Our study highlights that the stress from hospitalization could influence the success of breastfeeding, mostly in intensive settings and during long hospitalizations.