Social Support for Breastfeeding Practice During the COVID-19 Second Wave in Thailand: A Cross-Sectional Study

BACKGROUND

Since December 2020, the second wave of COVID-19 in Thailand has had a considerable impact, and mothers have struggled to receive breastfeeding support in hospitals. In this situation, there has been limited research that addresses social support for breastfeeding and the influences of support in determining breastfeeding outcomes.

RESEARCH AIMS

(1) To describe the influence of COVID-19 on social support for breastfeeding and breastfeeding practices in the Thai context, and (2) to examine breastfeeding duration with different levels of social support from families and healthcare providers.

METHOD

This descriptive, cross-sectional online survey design was part of a larger multi-methods project about breastfeeding behaviors and experiences among postpartum mothers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Online questionnaires were administered from August to November 2021 to participants (N = 390) who were from three provinces in Thailand and had given birth 6-12 months prior to the survey.

RESULTS

Exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months was observed in less than half of the participants (n = 146, 37.4%). Perceptions of breastfeeding support were generally high overall among both family (Mdn = 45, IQR = 7) and healthcare providers (Mdn = 43, IQR = 7). Participants who perceived more breastfeeding support from families than the median had significantly longer exclusive breastfeeding durations than those who perceived less breastfeeding support than the median (z = -2.246, p = .025). The same pattern was present for breastfeeding support from healthcare providers (z = -2.380, p = 0.017).

CONCLUSIONS

While the exclusive breastfeeding rate was better than the pre-pandemic rate, successful breastfeeding was more common when participants perceived that they had received breastfeeding support. Policymakers should execute breastfeeding support systems along with COVID-19 management.

Exploring the Association between Socioeconomic and Psychological Factors and Breastfeeding in the First Year of Life during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Thailand

Breastfeeding is essential for the survival, nutrition, and development of infants and young children. As a result of COVID-19’s effects of economic crises and psychological difficulties, breastfeeding outcomes have declined. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between socioeconomic and psychological factors with breastfeeding duration in the first year of life during the COVID-19 pandemic. Cross-sectional online surveys (n = 390) were conducted between August and November 2021. The participants were women aged 15 years and above who had given birth within 6−12 months before data collection and delivered in public hospitals in the top three provinces with the worst COVID-19 outbreaks during the second wave in Thailand. The average breastfeeding duration in this study was 6.20 months (±2.5) with a range of 1−12 months. Of mothers, 44.9% continued to breastfeed until between 6 and 12 months of age. In a multiple regression analysis, family income (Beta = 0.112, t = 1.988, p < 0.05), breastfeeding intention (beta = 0.097, t = 2.142, p < 0.05), intended breastfeeding duration (beta = 0.391, t = 8.355, p < 0.05), intention to receive vaccination (beta =0.129, t = 2.720, p < 0.05), and anxiety (beta = 0.118, t = 2.237, p < 0.05) were associated with breastfeeding duration in the first year of life (F (7, 382) = 20.977, p < 0.05, R2 = 0.278, R2 Adjusted = 0.264). During COVID-19, psychological factors were more strongly associated with breastfeeding duration in the first year of life than socioeconomic factors. Healthcare providers should promote breastfeeding intention, motivate COVID-19 vaccination intention, and support mental health among lactating mothers, particularly in the event of a pandemic.

Impact of personal and environmental factors affecting exclusive breastfeeding practices in the first six months during the COVID-19 pandemic in Thailand: a mixed-methods approach

Background

Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) for six months is recommended as one of the most important ways to support child health and survival, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, breastfeeding women encountered several obstacles during the pandemic. The purpose of this study was to conduct a survey to document breastfeeding practices, EBF rates and associated factors with six month exclusive breastfeeding during the second wave of the coronavirus outbreak in Thailand.

Methods

A mixed-methods design that included a cross-sectional survey (n = 390) and semi-structured in-depth interviews (n = 15) was carried out between August and November 2021. Participants were women aged ≥ 15 years who had given birth within 6–12 months before data collection and delivered in three public hospitals in the top three provinces with the most severe COVID-19 outbreaks.

Results

The median duration of EBF was four months (interquartile range, IQR: 1–6 months) and 37.4% of women exclusively breastfed for six months. From binary logistic regression models, several personal factors were associated with exclusive breastfeeding for six months including being a housewife (AOR 2.848; 95% CI 1.512, 5.367), perceived sufficiency of family income (AOR 2.502; 95% CI 1.362, 4.594), working from home/business (AOR 2.071; 95% CI 1.074, 3.995), breastfeeding intention (AOR 1.162; 95% CI 1.116, 1.210), and maternal age (AOR 0.932; 95% CI 0.882, 0.986). From qualitative interviews, women who were able to exclusively breastfed during the outbreak explained five themes that were a protective shield; I have to save money, I could spend all my time with my baby and breastfeed, spousal support is valuable, and opportunity to avoid the obstructed beliefs about exclusive breastfeeding.

Conclusions

Mothers with higher socioeconomic status and who were unemployed/worked from home and had support structures in place were able to successfully EBF during the COVID-19 outbreak. Healthcare providers can better support breastfeeding if they provide informational support and allow family members to participate in breastfeeding programs, especially spouses who provided key emotional and tangible support during pandemic.

Study on total phenolic contents and their antioxidant activities of Thai white, red and black rice bran extracts

In this study, different brans of Thai rice cultivars which were divided into 3 groups: white color (Hom mali 105, Supan, Saohai, Hom chaiya and Hom jun), red color (3256, GS 18003, 21606, 21699 and 5718) and black color (96041-20, 96051-37, 96004-49, 96023-35 and 96065-42) were investigated their Total Phenolic Content (TPC) and antioxidant activities. The rice brans were firstly extracted using methanol. The extracts were analyzed using Folin-Ciocalteau method for total phenolic content while thiocyanate method and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrasyl (DPPH) free radical-scavenging assay were used for antioxidant activities determination. The results indicated that the total phenolic content of white, red and black rice bran extract were in the range of 0.8931-0.9884, 1.0103-1.0494 and 1.0810-1.2239 mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE mg(-1)), respectively. With thiocyanate method, percentage inhibition were in the range of 10.15-20.68, 30.64-38.80 and 25.52-26.28 for white, red and black rice bran extract, respectively. With DPPH radical-scavenging assay, methanolic extract of 5718 showed the highest (IC50=0.0057 mg mL(-1)) while Homchaiya showed the lowest (IC50=0.2582 mg mL(-1)) activities. All of extracts showed lower activity than BHA (IC50=0.0012 mg mL(-1)). However, the antioxidant activity of all rice bran extracts indicated high antioxidant efficiency in the following order: red>black>white color rice brans. It is a promising that Thai rice bran are potential antioxidant sources.

Characteristics of silk fiber with and without sericin component: a comparison between Bombyx mori and Philosamia ricini silks

The study aimed to investigate and compare some characteristics of Bombyx mori and Eri (Philosamia ricini) silks in different forms; with and without sericin. The protein contents were measured and find out the composition of the silk fibroin and sericin proteins by Lowry method. The secondary structure and thermal behavior of all kind of silk were determined by FT-IR and TA instrument, respectively. The B. mori composed of more amount of sericin content than that of Eri silk. FT-IR spectra indicated that the Eri silk was similar profile of silk with and without sericin, whereas B. mori silk showed dramatically differed. With sericin, B. mori composed of higher ratio random coil and alpha-helix structures than beta-structure. With thermogravimetric analysis, both B. mori and Eri silk fibers without sericin showed higher stability than that silk fiber with sericin. This is due to the crystalline region of hydrophobic amino acid composed in the fibroin core protein. The differential scanning calorimetry thermogram of B. mori was differed from Eri silk fiber. It is a promising that characteristics of the silk were influenced by both silk components and silk varieties.

Influence of Philosamia ricini silk fibroin components on morphology, secondary structure and thermal properties of chitosan biopolymer film

This study aimed to prepare Eri (Philosamia ricini) Silk Fibroin (SF)/chitosan (CS) blend films by a solvent evaporation method and to compare the blend films with both native SF and CS films. Influence of SF ratios on the morphology, secondary structure and thermal decomposition of the CS blend films were investigated. The native SF and CS films were uniform and homogeneous without phase separation. For the blend films, the uniform can be found less than 60% of SF composition. All of SF/CS blend films showed both SF and CS characteristics. FT-IR results showed that the blend films composed of both random coil and beta-sheet with predominant of beta-sheet form. Interaction of intermolecular between SF and CS have occurred which were measured by thermogravimetric thermograms. Increasing of SF contents was leading to the increase of beta-sheet structures which were enhanced the thermal stability of the CS blend films.