Prenatal Anxiety and Acute Infant Feeding Outcomes: A Systematic Review

Fallon, Vicky ORCID: 0000-0002-7350-2568, Bennett, Kate ORCID: 0000-0003-3164-6894 and Harrold, Jo ORCID: 0000-0002-0899-4586 (2015) Prenatal Anxiety and Acute Infant Feeding Outcomes: A Systematic Review. Journal of Human Lactation, 32 (1). pp. 53-66.

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Abstract

Prenatal anxiety may negatively affect infant health in multiple domains, including infant feeding. However, the relationship between prenatal anxiety and infant feeding is not well understood. Given the benefits of recommended infant feeding practices, clarifying this relationship is important. This review was conducted to examine the relationship between prenatal anxiety and infant feeding outcomes. Electronic searches were performed in relevant databases. A hand search of selected journals and reference lists of included articles was then conducted. All studies were considered that provided information related to infant feeding outcomes and anxiety during pregnancy. Quality assessment and data extraction were conducted by 2 reviewers; 99 studies were identified, of which 6 were eligible. No associations were found between prenatal anxiety and breastfeeding initiation or breastfeeding in any quantity. However, relationships between high levels of prenatal anxiety and a reduction in both breastfeeding intention and breastfeeding exclusivity were identified. The review was limited by the small number of studies included. Sample sizes lacking power and heterogeneous measures and definitions all significantly affected the comparability of findings. It is concluded that there is insufficient evidence to clarify the relationship between prenatal anxiety and infant feeding outcomes.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	breastfeeding, formula feeding, infant feeding, pregnancy, prenatal anxiety
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	10 Sep 2015 15:06
Last Modified:	15 Dec 2022 15:05
DOI:	10.1177/0890334415604129
Related URLs:	Author Publisher
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/2025221

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