Abstract
Depressed versus non-depressed mothers were interviewed on their breastfeeding practices and perceptions of their infants' feeding behavior when their infants were eight-months-old. The depressed mothers less often breastfed, they stopped breastfeeding their infants significantly earlier in infancy and they scored lower on a breastfeeding confidence scale. Independent of maternal depression, mothers who breastfed rather than bottle fed their infants had higher confidence levels and rated their infants as less alert and less irritable during feedings.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 539-545 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Early Child Development and Care |
Volume | 172 |
Issue number | 6 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2002 |
Keywords
- Bottlefeeding
- Breastfeeding
- Depressed mothers
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Pediatrics
- Developmental and Educational Psychology
- Social Psychology