THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN SLEEP, BREASTFEEDING AND POSTPARTUM DEPRESSION

Objectives: (1) To evaluate the relationship between breastfeeding and postpartum depression. (2) Assessment of the relationship between sleep and postpartum depression.

Study design: A cross-sectional study.

Place and duration of the study: In the Gynecology and Obstetrics Unit II and Department of Psychology, Nishtar Hospital Multan for one-year duration from May 2019 to May 2020.

Methodology: A sample of 90 nursing mothers and 90 non-breastfeeding mothers was collected by targeted sampling. The sample entry criteria were as follows: All subjects were vaginally delivered six weeks ago. Postpartum depression was measured by the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and sleep by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI).

Results: In this study, a significant relationship was observed between breastfeeding, not breastfeeding and the postpartum depression scores χ 2 = 6.95, p <0.05, and a similar correlation was observed between sleep scores and postpartum depression rates χ 2 = 11.17, p <0.05. The results show that there is a significant association between breastfeeding, sleep and postnatal depression.

Conclusion: Lack of breastfeeding and poor sleep are risk factors for postpartum depression.

Key words: breastfeeding, not breastfeeding, sleep, postpartum depression.