Does Preoperative Surgical Fear Level Affect Breastfeeding?

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between surgical fear, breastfeeding initiation time, and breastfeeding self-efficacy.

Design: The research is a descriptive study.

Methods: The population of the study consisted of patients who applied to City Hospital Gynecological Surgery and Postpartum services for elective cesarean section between July and October 2024. The study sample included pregnant women who met the eligibility criteria and consented to participate. Introductory Form, Breastfeeding Assessment Form, Surgical Fear Scale, and Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale were used to collect the data.

Findings: A moderate positive correlation was observed between the short-term and long-term fear subscales, while a moderate negative correlation was found between the Surgical Fear Scale and its subscales and the Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale (P ≤ .001). Women aged 25 years and younger had lower mean Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale scores and the difference between the groups was statistically significant (P < .001). The mean scores of the subscale and total scale of the Surgical Fear Scale were lower, the mean scores of the Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale were higher, and the difference between the groups was statistically significant (P ≤ .001, P = .002, P = .001, P ≤ .001, respectively). The subscales and total scale scores of the Surgical Fear Scale of working women were lower and the difference between the groups was statistically significant (P = .005, P ≤ .001, P ≤ .001, P ≤ .001, respectively). The mean scores of the subscales and total scale of the Surgical Fear Scale were higher, the mean scores of the Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale were lower, and the difference between the groups was statistically significant (P = .001, P ≤ .001, P ≤ .001, P ≤ .001, P ≤ .001).

Conclusions: This study shows that breastfeeding problems in women undergoing cesarean section should not only be focused on breastfeeding problems due to the difficulties caused by the surgery, but should also be taken into consideration in the preoperative process. A recommendation is to investigate the effect of interventions to reduce the effect of preoperative surgical fear on breastfeeding.