A new study suggests that the decision whether to breastfeed or not is linked to the mother’s personality.
Amy Brown, lead author of the study from Swansea University in Wales, and her colleagues surveyed about 600 mothers with babies aged between six months and 12 months. They categorized the mothers’ personality to being introverted (anxious) and extroverted (less anxious).
Introverts and extroverts’ personality differ strongly. Aside from their anxiousness level, introverts are usually quiet and reserved while extroverts are outgoing and talkative.
After consolidating the responses of the participants, the researchers found out that introverted mothers were less likely to breastfeed their babies reasoning that they were not comfortable breastfeeding in front of others. They were easily swayed as well to giving formula milks to their babies as recommended by other people. They also feel the people around them were less supportive, making breastfeeding more of a burden for them.
The researchers recommended that mothers who always feel anxious must undergo education in order to build their confidence and knowledge about breastfeeding. Their families must learn to be more supportive as well, especially to first-timers.
Those who will be breastfeeding for the first time are often faced with different challenges since the act is something completely new to them. These introverted mothers need someone to uplift their confidence and teach them how to resolve problems. They should also be taught how to use the breastfeeding services to make it more accessible for them.
The study was published in Aug. 6 issue of the Journal of Advanced Nursing.
Breastfeeding benefits both the mother and the baby wherein previous studies have ruled out that breastfed babies are more protected against infections and grow smarter than those who were not breastfed. Mothers who breastfed were also found to be less vulnerable to various types of cancers.
