Breastfeeding and Postnatal Depression: A Prospective Cohort Study in Sabah, Malaysia
BACKGROUND: Postnatal depression is a disorder that can lead to serious consequences for both the mother and infant. Despite the extensively documented health benefits of breastfeeding, its association with postnatal depression remains uncertain. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between fu...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
| Published: |
2015
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/27567 |
| _version_ | 1848752299634065408 |
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| author | Mohamad Yusuff, Azi Tang, Li Binns, Colin Lee, Andy |
| author_facet | Mohamad Yusuff, Azi Tang, Li Binns, Colin Lee, Andy |
| author_sort | Mohamad Yusuff, Azi |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | BACKGROUND: Postnatal depression is a disorder that can lead to serious consequences for both the mother and infant. Despite the extensively documented health benefits of breastfeeding, its association with postnatal depression remains uncertain. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between full breastfeeding at 3 months postpartum and postnatal depressive symptoms among mothers in Sabah, Malaysia. METHODS: A prospective cohort study of 2072 women was conducted in Sabah during 2009-2010. Participants were recruited at 36 to 38 weeks of gestation and followed up at 1 and 3 months postpartum. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the validated Malay version of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). Repeated-measures analyses of variance was performed to compare the depression scores over time and between subgroups of breastfeeding mothers. RESULTS: Approximately 46% of women were fully breastfeeding their infants at 3 months postpartum. These mothers had significantly (P < .001) lower mean EPDS scores at both 1 and 3 months postpartum (mean ± SD, 4.14 ± 4.12 and 4.27 ± 4.12, respectively) than others who did not initiate or maintain full breastfeeding for 3 months (4.94 ± 4.34 and 5.25 ± 4.05, respectively). After controlling for the effects of covariates, the differences in EPDS scores remained statistically significant (P = .001) between the 2 breastfeeding groups. CONCLUSION: Full breastfeeding appeared to be negatively associated with postnatal depressive symptoms for mothers residing in Sabah. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T08:06:25Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-27567 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T08:06:25Z |
| publishDate | 2015 |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-275672017-09-13T15:10:07Z Breastfeeding and Postnatal Depression: A Prospective Cohort Study in Sabah, Malaysia Mohamad Yusuff, Azi Tang, Li Binns, Colin Lee, Andy BACKGROUND: Postnatal depression is a disorder that can lead to serious consequences for both the mother and infant. Despite the extensively documented health benefits of breastfeeding, its association with postnatal depression remains uncertain. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between full breastfeeding at 3 months postpartum and postnatal depressive symptoms among mothers in Sabah, Malaysia. METHODS: A prospective cohort study of 2072 women was conducted in Sabah during 2009-2010. Participants were recruited at 36 to 38 weeks of gestation and followed up at 1 and 3 months postpartum. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the validated Malay version of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). Repeated-measures analyses of variance was performed to compare the depression scores over time and between subgroups of breastfeeding mothers. RESULTS: Approximately 46% of women were fully breastfeeding their infants at 3 months postpartum. These mothers had significantly (P < .001) lower mean EPDS scores at both 1 and 3 months postpartum (mean ± SD, 4.14 ± 4.12 and 4.27 ± 4.12, respectively) than others who did not initiate or maintain full breastfeeding for 3 months (4.94 ± 4.34 and 5.25 ± 4.05, respectively). After controlling for the effects of covariates, the differences in EPDS scores remained statistically significant (P = .001) between the 2 breastfeeding groups. CONCLUSION: Full breastfeeding appeared to be negatively associated with postnatal depressive symptoms for mothers residing in Sabah. 2015 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/27567 10.1177/0890334415620788 restricted |
| spellingShingle | Mohamad Yusuff, Azi Tang, Li Binns, Colin Lee, Andy Breastfeeding and Postnatal Depression: A Prospective Cohort Study in Sabah, Malaysia |
| title | Breastfeeding and Postnatal Depression: A Prospective Cohort Study in Sabah, Malaysia |
| title_full | Breastfeeding and Postnatal Depression: A Prospective Cohort Study in Sabah, Malaysia |
| title_fullStr | Breastfeeding and Postnatal Depression: A Prospective Cohort Study in Sabah, Malaysia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Breastfeeding and Postnatal Depression: A Prospective Cohort Study in Sabah, Malaysia |
| title_short | Breastfeeding and Postnatal Depression: A Prospective Cohort Study in Sabah, Malaysia |
| title_sort | breastfeeding and postnatal depression: a prospective cohort study in sabah, malaysia |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/27567 |