Frequency of Musculoskeletal Discomforts and its Association with Various Breastfeeding Positions among Nursing Mothers

Abstract

Objective: To determine the association between musculoskeletal discomforts and breastfeeding positions among nursing mothers.Methodology: It was an analytical cross-sectional conducted from January 2023 to June 2023 at Imran Idrees Teaching Hospital and Idrees Hospital, Cantt Sialkot. The participants were selected using a convenient sampling technique. All 232 participants were recruited after the informed consent who met the inclusion criteria for the study. A musculoskeletal discomfort form developed from the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire was used as an outcome measuring tool. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 22. Descriptive statistics and chi-square tests were used to analyze the data. Results: The mean age of participants is 28.91±4.10 years. The majority of the participants had 1 breastfeeding child N=181 (78.0%), postpartum duration 1-3 months N=86 (37.1%), with the frequency of breastfeeding 1-3 sessions/day N= 87(37.5%) respectively. Most nursing mothers had a caesarian section as their mode of delivery N=120 (51.7%) and cross-cradle hold was the most common breastfeeding position N=83 (35.8%) causing musculoskeletal discomfort among N=213 (91.8%) of participants. Chi-square showed a significant association for ache/pain and discomfort in the regions of shoulders, elbows, wrist/hands as (p=0.00); upper back (p=0.01) and neck (p=0.02) at significance level 0.05. For prevention scale regions of the neck (p=0.00), wrist/hand, low back (p=0.01)and trouble scale regions of the upper back (p=0.01), shoulder, wrist/hand (p=0.02) respectively. Conclusion: The Musculoskeletal discomforts were more pronounced in regions of the neck, shoulders, elbows, and wrists, upper/lower back with the breastfeeding positions among nursing mothers.Key Words: Breastfeeding positions, musculoskeletal pain, nursing mothers, postur