Health Education, Breastfeeding and Postpartum Depression

During the period of postpartum happiness, 10-15% of mothers in the world face a mental difficulty, postpartum depression (PPD). The literature shows an association between breastfeeding and PPD. Preventing breastfeeding is connected to an increase in the tendency to PPD, and on the other hand PPD is found to be more severe among mothers who wanted to breastfeed and failed. What is the connection between breastfeeding and PPD? What is the effect of health education on breastfeeding among postpartum women? Does breastfeeding protect or aggravate? Currently, there are no studies that clearly confirm this relationship. The World Health Organization, 2023 emphasizes the importance of policies to promote breastfeeding. Breastfeeding has health and emotional benefits that affect society, the economy, the environment and the mental health of the public. Studies show that breastfeeding is associated with sociocultural affiliation, religious, cultural, social support, self-efficacy, and PPD. Factors influencing maternal behaviors. I am a public health nurse and lactation consultant. The article is a theoretical component of a doctoral thesis aimed at early identification of mothers in risk groups for unhealthy behaviors, providing a response to improve the quality of life and public health and saving future expenses for the health care system. In the article I will present literature, opinions that exist today on the subject and examine the meeting between breastfeeding and PPD. I will focus on the consequences of health education on the health of the mother and the baby in the world and in Israel.