Award Date

December 2023

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Public Health (MPH)

Department

Social and Behavioral Health

First Committee Member

Gabriela Buccini

Second Committee Member

Amanda Haboush-Deloye

Third Committee Member

Ann Vuong

Fourth Committee Member

Alyssa Crittenden

Number of Pages

67

Abstract

Exclusive and continued breastfeeding practices are the optimal source of nutrition for an infant's well-being, cognitive growth, and development and have positive health outcomes for the mother too. Anxiety and depression are common perinatal mental health conditions associated with early breastfeeding interruption. However, Nevada lacks data on perinatal mental health and its influence on breastfeeding practices. The objective of this study was to assess whether maternal mental health (anxiety and depression) impacts exclusive and continued breastfeeding practices in Clark County, Nevada. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 358 mothers having children 0-23 months old and residing in Clark County, Nevada. A descriptive, bivariate, and multivariate logistic regression analysis between breastfeeding outcomes and self-reported anxiety and depression symptoms adjusted by co-variables was performed. The prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding for infants under 6 months old was 35.0% (n=123), and the continued breastfeeding rate for children 7-23 months old was 50.9% (n=224). Decreased exclusive breastfeeding was independently associated with depressive symptoms (AOR = 0.13, 95% CI: 0.03- 0.51) and the interaction between both anxiety and depression symptoms (AOR= 0.15, 95% CI: 0.04-0.57). Decreased continued breastfeeding was significantly associated with anxiety symptoms(AOR=0.41, 95% CI: 0.18-0.91). We found that maternal anxiety and depression are independent risk factors for decreasing the frequency of breastfeeding practices among mothers of children under two years old in Clark County, Nevada. Hence, evidence-based interventions should be implemented to reduce maternal anxiety and depression, as they are linked to breastfeeding success and the well-being of mothers and children.

Keywords

Anxiety; Breastfeeding; Continued Breastfeeding; Depression; Exclusive Breastfeeding; Mothers

Disciplines

Public Health

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

Rights

IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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