Representative image (AFP)
Madrid: Breastfeeding after a caesarean section (C-section) may help manage pain, with mothers who breastfed their babies for at least 2 months after the operation three times less likely to experience persistent pain compared to those who breastfed for less than 2 months, according to new research being presented at this year's Euroanaesthesia Congress in Geneva.
C-sections account for around a quarter of all births in the UK, USA, and Canada. Chronic pain (lasting for more than 3 months) after C-section affects around 1 in 5 mothers. It is widely accepted that breast milk is the most important and appropriate nutrition in early life, and WHO, the UK Department of Health, and US Department of Health and Human Services all recommend exclusive breastfeeding up to 6 months of age. But until now, little has been known about the effect of breastfeeding on a mother's experience of chronic pain after C-section.
The study, by Dr Carmen Alicia Vargas Berenjeno and colleagues from the Hospital Universitario Nuestra Se ora de Valme in Sevilla, Spain, included 185 mothers who underwent a C-section at the hospital between January 2015 and December 2016. Mothers were interviewed about breastfeeding patterns and the level of chronic pain at the surgical site in the first 24 and 72 hours after C-section, and again 4 months later.
The researchers also looked at the effect of other variables on chronic pain including surgical technique, pain in the first 24-72 hours, maternal education and occupation, and anxiety during breastfeeding. (QNA)
