Effect of obsessive compulsive behavior and breastfeeding self-efficacy on maternal satisfaction in the postpartum period: a case-control study.

Background: Mothers with preterm infants are more likely to have perinatal mood disorders than mothers carrying to term, have problems breastfeeding, and may be dissatisfied with the role of being a mother. This study was conducted to investigate and compare the effects of obsessive-compulsive (OCD) behaviour and breastfeeding self-efficacy on satisfaction with the role of motherhood. in the postpartum period in mothers of preterm or term infants.

Methods: The descriptive, case-control, analytical study was conducted with 175 mothers of late preterm and 175 mothers of term. The descriptive Information Form, Scale for Obsessive, Compulsive Behaviors of Mothers in the Postpartum Period with regard to Baby Care (OCB-PPBC), The Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale - Short Form (BSES-SF), and The Being a Mother Scale (BaM-13) were used as data collection tools.

Results: The BSES-SF score of the mothers of term infants was higher than the mothers of late preterm infants (t=-5.147; p < 0.001), the BaM-13 score and the Child Experience sub-dimension score were lower (t = 1.988; p = 0.048 and t = 2.263; p = 0.024, respectively). A negative correlation was found between BSES-SF scores of mothers of late preterm infants and their Scale for OCB-PPBC scores (r=-0.253, p = 0.001). A negative correlation was also found between BSES-SF and BaM-13 scores of both mothers of late preterm and term infants (r= -0.343, p < 0.001 and r= -0.343, p < 0.001, repsectively). A positive correlation was found between Scale for OCB-PPBC scores and BaM-13 scores of both mothers of late preterm and term infants (r = 0.311, p < 0.001; r = 0.206 and p = 0.006, respectively).

Conclusion: We believe that health professionals can contribute to increaseding maternal satisfaction with motherhood by carefully screening mothers to be for OCD behavior related to baby care in the postpartum period, improving mother-infant interaction, care practices and approaches that support maternal attachment, and supporting breastfeeding.