The Availability of Information on Induced Lactation in Malaysia

Attitudes and Barriers to Breastfeeding among Mothers in Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Background

Breastfeeding provides unsurpassed natural nutrition to the newborn and infant. It has a nearly perfect mix of food elements and vitamins that infants need to grow up. Nonetheless, the tendency for breastfeeding remains below the expected levels.

Objectives

To explore the attitudes and barriers to breastfeeding among mothers in Princess Nourah Abdulrahman University (PNU), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted, from January to April 2019; 399 PNU students, employees, and faculty mothers aged 18 years and above with experience of childbirth and breastfeeding were included in the study using a predesigned validated questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of four scales: sociodemographic, attitude toward breastfeeding, barriers to breastfeeding, and induced lactation knowledge.

Results

The participants' mean age was 34.1 ± 10.4 years; most (87.8%) were Saudi; 92.8% were married; 62% had a bachelor's degree; and 43% had "enough income." While 40% of the mothers reported >6 months "exclusive breastfeeding" for the first baby, only 34.8% did so for the last baby, and 54.5% did so for most of all babies altogether. The mothers' parity ranged between 1 birth and 4 births in 23.5% and 17.5% of the participants, respectively. An overall score of breastfeeding attitude averaged 59.6 ± 7.3. The tendency for scoring a negative attitude to breastfeeding was significantly reported (p < 0.5) among 127 (31.8%) 31- to 40-year-old mothers; 153 (38.3%) bachelor's degree holders; and 157 (39.3%) employees (χ ² (4) 14.6, p = 0.006; χ ² (4) 10.4, p = 0.034; and χ ² (4) 20.4, p < 0.001, respectively). "Mother's illness" was the most commonly (63%) reported barrier to "not to breastfeed," followed by "work" (45.5%) and "father not supporting breastfeeding" (14.8%).

Conclusions

An overall negative attitude toward breastfeeding among PNU mothers was noted. Barriers included mother's sickness and work. Efforts to minimize such negative attitudes and barriers among susceptible mothers are warranted.

Experiences of women who underwent induced lactation: A literature review

OBJECTIVE

This article aims to review the literature published over the past five decades related to the experiences of women who have undergone induced lactation.

METHODS

A comprehensive electronic search was conducted using PubMed, the Library of Congress, Google Scholar, SAGE, and ScienceDirect. The following search keywords were used: adoptive breastfeeding, induced lactation, non-puerperal lactation, extraordinary breastfeeding, and milk kinship. The search was restricted to articles written in English and published from 1956 to 2019. All study designs were included except for practice protocols.

RESULTS

A total of 50 articles about induced lactation were retrieved. Of these, 17 articles identified the experiences of women who underwent induced lactation. The articles included original papers (n=7), reviews (n=5), and case reports (n=5). Four articles were specifically related to Malaysia, and the others were international. These 17 articles concerning the experiences of women who induced lactation will be reviewed based on four themes related to inducing lactation: (a) understanding women's perception of satisfaction, (b) emotional aspects, (c) enabling factors, and (d) challenges.

CONCLUSION

Identifying a total of only 17 articles on induced lactation published over the last 53 years suggests that the subject is understudied. This review provides emerging knowledge regarding the experiences of women who have induced lactation in terms of satisfaction, emotions, enabling factors and challenges related to inducing lactation.

Methods and Success Factors of Induced Lactation: A Scoping Review

BACKGROUND

Induced lactation enables a woman who has not given birth to breastfeed a child. Lactation may be induced through both pharmacological and non-pharmacological methods, although the desired outcome cannot always be achieved.

RESEARCH AIMS

The aims of this scoping review was to assess the different methods used to induce lactation, as well as the factors related to sucking the breast effectively and the production of human milk.

METHODS

We searched five databases from June 2019-February 2020 for studies referring to methods and factors related to breast suckling and/or the volume of milk produced after inducing lactation, using the following search terms and Boolean operators: breastfeeding AND induced lactation AND adoptive mothers OR surrogate mothers OR female homosexuality OR non-gestating. The final review included a total of 24 articles.

RESULTS

Pharmacological methods were not always used to produce milk, although breast stimulation was essential. The age of the child, interference due to bottle feeding, breast stimulation, and the support received were important factors in the induction of lactation. There were several factors that may account for the differences between developing and higher income countries in methods of induced lactation and the amount of milk that study participants produced. There was no consensus over whether previous pregnancy and/or breastfeeding experience influenced induced lactation.

CONCLUSION

Health professionals need to have adequate knowledge about induction methods, the preferences of each woman, and the reasons for inducing lactation, to provide proper assistance. However, the lack of standardization about induction of lactation makes it difficult.