The Relationship between Type of Delivery and Successful Breastfeeding

Background Breastfeeding is an only reliable nutritional source for infants. Many factors could affect breastfeeding such as delivery type. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship of delivery type and breastfeeding successful. Materials and Methods This was a descriptive-analytical study. Subjects of this study were 298 (148 subjects [49.7%] with cesarean and 150 subject [50.3%] with vaginal delivery) mothers who were referred to 4 health care centers in Urmia, Iran. The demographic data, type of delivery, breast feeding characteristics were collected by a researcher-made questionnaire. Statistical analysis was carried out using SPSS version 17.0 software. Results The mean age of mothers was 28.2 ± 4.9 years old. Of a total 298 mothers, 148 subjects (49.7%) had experienced cesarean delivery and 150 subjects (50.3%) had experienced vaginal delivery. There was no statistically significant difference among mothers who had Vaginal delivery compared to mothers who had Caesarean delivery in terms of the first lactation duration (P = 0.406), from delivery to first breastfeeding duration (P = 0.125), mean duration of next breastfeeding (P = 0.750), mean number of lactation per day (P = 0.133), and mean number of lactation per night (P = 0.081), and age of onset of auxiliary nutrition (P = 0.784). Conclusion In this study there was no relationship between type of delivery and breastfeeding behaviors; while in the vaginal delivery group, the average distance to first lactation was shorter, so, cesarean delivery can be dangerous for mothers, but also can affect the breastfeeding pattern.