Interrelationships among parenting behaviors, breastfeeding participation, and breastfeeding attitudes of mothers and fathers in the postpartum period: A prospective study

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to examine the interrelationships among parenting behaviors, breastfeeding participation, and breastfeeding attitudes of mothers and fathers in the postpartum period and to identify the sociodemographic and clinical factors associated with these variables. METHODS: This study was a descriptive, analytical, and prospective study. The study was conducted between March 2023 and October 2023 with a total of 400 parents, comprising 200 mothers and 200 fathers, who were admitted to the postnatal clinics of a university-affiliated training and research hospital in İzmir for delivery purposes. Data were collected using the "Individual Identification Form-Mother," "Individual Identification Form-Father," "Postpartum Parenting Behavior Scale (PPBS)" (The same scale was abbreviated as M-PPBS for mothers and F-PPBS for fathers), "Mother Breastfeeding Attitude Assessment Scale (M-BASS)," and "Father's Breastfeeding Attitude (F-BA) and Participation in Breastfeeding (F-PB)." In the study, the t-test and one-way analysis of variance were used to compare the descriptive information and scores of the scales. Spearman correlation analysis was used to determine the relationship between the scores of scales. The paired sample t-test was used to determine changes in mothers' attitudes toward breastfeeding and fathers' attitudes and participation in breastfeeding over time. Regression analysis was performed to investigate the effect of mothers' and fathers' parenting behaviors, fathers' breastfeeding attitudes, and fathers' participation on mothers' breastfeeding attitudes. RESULTS: The scores of M-PPBS and F-PPBS were 4.52 ± 1.43 and 4.13 ± 1.71, respectively. The M-BAAS scores were 120.18 ± 14.41 at the second follow-up and 119.71 ± 14.58 at the third follow-up (P > 0.05). The F-BA scores were 53.35 ± 5.98 at the second follow-up and 54.04 ± 6.14 at the third follow-up (P < 0.05). The F-PB scores were 53.25 ± 10.08 at the second follow-up and 52.55 ± 10.47 at the third follow-up (P > 0.05). It was determined that some sociodemographic characteristics affected the scores of M-PPBS, F-PPBS, M-BAAS, F-BA, and F-PB (Tables 2 and 4, P < 0.05). It was determined that there was a weakly significant positive correlation between M-PPBS and F-PPBS scores (r = 0.299; P < 0.05). There was a moderate, statistically significant positive correlation between F-BA and F-PB in both the second and third follow-ups (r = 0.314, 0.559; P < 0.05). According to the results of multiple regression analysis, it was found that an increase of 1 unit in the scores of the M-BAAS in the second follow-up increased the scores of the M-BAAS in the third follow-up by 0.7 units (B = 0.689; B = 0.703; P < 0.05, respectively). In the second follow-up, fathers' attitudes toward and participation in breastfeeding predicted mothers' attitudes toward breastfeeding (B = 0.630; B = 0.208; P < 0.05, respectively, Table 5). CONCLUSION: Parents' parenting behaviors influenced one another, and the findings indicated that fathers' attitudes toward and participation in breastfeeding significantly predicted mothers' attitudes toward breastfeeding. It is emphasized in this study that health professionals should actively engage fathers as key stakeholders in the lactation assessment process, rather than focusing solely on the mother. In this context, it is recommended that systematic inquiry directed at fathers be conducted and that the determinative influence of paternal support on the breastfeeding process in the postpartum period be integrated into clinical evaluation.