The impact of breastfeeding during pregnancy on prenatal attachment and psychological well-being

This descriptive and correlational study was conducted to examine the relationship between breastfeeding during pregnancy and prenatal attachment and psychological well-being. The study population consisted of 109 breastfeeding pregnant women who met the inclusion criteria and agreed to participate in the study, attending the outpatient prenatal clinic at Kocaeli City Hospital between November 15, 2023, and June 17, 2024. Data were collected using the Demographic Data Collection Form, the Prenatal Attachment Scale, and the Psychological Well-Being Scale. The data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, version 22.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). Frequency and percentage analyses were used to determine participants' descriptive characteristics, while mean and standard deviation statistics were utilized for scale evaluations.The level of statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. The study, it was found that the psychological well-being total score of pregnant mothers varied between-0.602 to-0.212, and the Prenatal Attachment Scale Total score varied vi between-0.424 to -0.816. The correlation coefficient between psychological well-being and prenatal attachment total scores (r = 0.694) showed a positive and significant relationship (p <0.01). Additionally, negative and significant relationships were identified between the total number of pregnancies and psychological well-being (r =-0.328, p <0.01) and all subdimensions of the Prenatal Attachment Scale (p <0.01). Variables such as the presence of a known illness, experiencing complications in the most recent pregnancy, health issues in the breastfeeding mother or child, previous breastfeeding experience, receiving breastfeeding counseling during pregnancy, thoughts about breastfeeding during pregnancy, and tandem breastfeeding did not show significant differences in psychological well-being (p>0.01). The findings indicated that while the level of breastfeeding during pregnancy was high among the sample group, the planning level for tandem breastfeeding was low. Given the limited studies examining the effects of breastfeeding during pregnancy on prenatal attachment and psychological well-being, further research is needed in this area. Healthcare professionals should provide supportive education and counseling services to families and the community to promote breastfeeding and ensure the regular monitoring of pregnant women's psychological and physical health during breastfeeding.