Effectiveness of Mother Baby Friendly Breast-Feeding Sling on Maternal Comfort and Newborn Feeding Behavior: An experimental Study on Postnatal Women with full Term Newborn

Abstract

Background and Objectives: The myth that “breastfeeding is simple” is untrue. During breastfeeding, various challenges may arise for both the mother and child. Maternal comfort and proper newborn feeding behavior are important for achieving exclusive breastfeeding. This study aimed to compare the level of maternal comfort among postnatal women and newborn feeding behavior among newborns of postnatal women with and without using Mother Baby Friendly Breast-Feeding Sling.
Materials and Methods: A true experimental two group post-test only control design was used to compare the newborn feeding behavior and maternal comfort with and without the use of Mother Baby Friendly Breast-Feeding sling. A total of 120 primiparous breastfeeding women with full term newborn after normal vaginal delivery admitted in PNC ward in selected hospitals of a Metropolitan city were enrolled. They were randomized into two study groups using simple random sampling technique. Duration of the study was 8 weeks. Standard care was provided to control group and Mother Baby Breastfeeding Sling was used in case of the experimental group. Newborn feeding behavior was assessed for 3 days (1st to 3rd day) after delivery by using observation rating scale and maternal comfort was assessed on 3rd day by analyzing self-reported Likert scale-based response.
Results: The findings of the study revealed that 65% women in the sling group reported good maternal comfort with use of Mother Baby Friendly Breast-Feeding Sling, whereas only 23.3% reported good maternal comfort without the use of Mother Baby Friendly Breast-Feeding Sling during breastfeeding. With regard to newborn feeding behavior, on day 3, 48.3% newborn exhibited good feeding behavior without the use of Mother Baby Friendly Breast-Feeding Sling, whereas 100% exhibited good feeding behavior with the use of Mother Baby Friendly Breast-Feeding Sling. There was significant statistical difference in the level of newborn feeding behavior and maternal comfort with the use of Mother Baby Friendly Breast-Feeding Sling at 0.05 level of significance.
Conclusion: Mother Baby Friendly Breast-Feeding Sling can be used as a standard intervention to promote maternal comfort and enhance newborn feeding behavior, thus contributing for exclusive breastfeeding.