title: Predictors of Exclusive Breastfeeding 6-9 Weeks After Delivery: a Prospective Cohort Study. Public Mental Health Perspective.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  There are numerous benefits of exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) on mother and child wellbeing. The objective was to find out whether depression, posttraumatic stress disorder and personality traits at the time of delivery are associated with EBF six to nine weeks after delivery.
  
  
  METHODS
  The targeted population were women who delivered in Croatian largest University maternity hospital. The scores of The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), The Big Five Inventory (BFI) and The Impact of Events Scale (revised) - IES-R three to five days after childbirth were measured to predict self-reported EBF status six to nine weeks after the delivery. Six to nine weeks after the delivery data on breastfeeding were collected for 259 (69.6%) out of initially 372 enrolled women.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Six to nine weeks after the delivery 151/259 (58.3%) were still exclusively breastfeeding their child. After adjustment for all other variables, women who gave their second childbirth had significantly higher odds for longer EBF than primiparous women (OR=2.12; 95% CI 1.10-4.10). Higher EPDS result was significantly associated with lower odds for EBF (OR=0.92; 95% CI 0.85-0.99).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Parity and depressed mood immediately after the delivery are associated with EBF six to eight weeks after the delivery. Depression symptoms are a moderator between parity and exclusive breastfeeding, so multiparous women without depressive symptomatology are more prone for EBF.
authors.affiliation: Neuropsychiatric Hospital "Dr. Ivan Barbot", Jelengradska 1, 44000 Popovača, Croatia, azijadasi@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Azijada Srkalović
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Imširagić
authors.forename: Dražen
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Begić
authors.forename: Iris
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Sarajlić
authors.forename: Irena Rojnić
authors.initials: IR
authors.lastname: Palavra
authors.forename: Mirjana
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Orban
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001942:Breast Feeding; D002605:Character; D017523:Croatia; D019052:Depression, Postpartum / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008603:Mental Health; D011247:Pregnancy; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011634:Public Health; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult