Motherhood unveiled: examining the dynamic relationship between sleep quality and breastfeeding confidence in postpartum primiparous women in Syria: a cross-sectional study

Abstract Background Breastfeeding self-efficacy signifies a mother’s confidence in her ability to breastfeed. Sleep quality, on the other hand, refers to the effectiveness of sleep. Low sleep quality is a common issue faced by new mothers during the postpartum period. It remains unclear whether ther...

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Main Authors: Alaa Aldairy, Jamal Ataya, Dana Haymoun, Roula Samer Kashlan, Joudi Kouran, Nagham Amouna, Dema Adwan, Marwan Alhalabi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2025-04-01
Series:BMC Public Health
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-22709-0
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author Alaa Aldairy
Jamal Ataya
Dana Haymoun
Roula Samer Kashlan
Joudi Kouran
Nagham Amouna
Dema Adwan
Marwan Alhalabi
author_facet Alaa Aldairy
Jamal Ataya
Dana Haymoun
Roula Samer Kashlan
Joudi Kouran
Nagham Amouna
Dema Adwan
Marwan Alhalabi
author_sort Alaa Aldairy
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Background Breastfeeding self-efficacy signifies a mother’s confidence in her ability to breastfeed. Sleep quality, on the other hand, refers to the effectiveness of sleep. Low sleep quality is a common issue faced by new mothers during the postpartum period. It remains unclear whether there is a connection between a mother’s perception of breastfeeding self-efficacy, which has a positive effect on breastfeeding, and sleep quality during the postpartum period. This study aims to determine the relationship between sleep quality and breastfeeding self-efficacy among primiparous mothers during the postpartum period, while also examining the impact of different demographic factors. Materials and methods This descriptive study included 316 primiparous women who delivered babies in Damascus, Syria. Data were gathered using a questionnaire comprising 53 questions divided into three sections: demographic information, the Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale-Short Form (BSES-SF), and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Participants’ answers were collected via telephone interviews conducted by the authors, along with an electronic version of the questionnaire that was distributed online. IBM SPSS was used to perform descriptive statistics, independent t-tests, one-way ANOVA, MANOVA, post hoc tests, and Pearson correlation analyses. A P-value of < 0.05 was considered to indicate statistical significance for all the analyses. Results A significant negative correlation emerged between maternal breastfeeding self-efficacy and PSQI scores. The gender distribution of the newborns yielded significant differences in maternal sleep quality as assessed using the PSQI but not in terms of the mean score on the BSES-SF. Maternal age was positively correlated with maternal breastfeeding self-efficacy and PSQI scores. Regarding education level and overall sleep quality, a significant difference was observed, as mothers with higher education levels tended to have lower overall sleep quality, but no relation to breastfeeding self-efficacy was detected. The multivariate analysis showed a positive correlation between breastfeeding self-efficiency and higher financial status. No significant differences were found in relation to type of delivery or infant age or residential factors. Conclusions Research findings indicated a positive correlation between the breastfeeding self-efficacy of postpartum women and their overall sleep quality, with an observed increase in breastfeeding self-efficacy as sleep quality improved.
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spelling doaj-art-60a92a5a97cf4e86ad1c950fb6b170722025-08-20T02:28:42ZengBMCBMC Public Health1471-24582025-04-012511910.1186/s12889-025-22709-0Motherhood unveiled: examining the dynamic relationship between sleep quality and breastfeeding confidence in postpartum primiparous women in Syria: a cross-sectional studyAlaa Aldairy0Jamal Ataya1Dana Haymoun2Roula Samer Kashlan3Joudi Kouran4Nagham Amouna5Dema Adwan6Marwan Alhalabi7Faculty of Medicine, Damascus UniversityFaculty of Medicine, University of AleppoFaculty of Medicine, Damascus UniversityFaculty of Medicine, Damascus UniversityFaculty of Medicine, Damascus UniversityFaculty of Medicine, Damascus UniversityEmergency Department, University Hospital of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Damascus UniversityDivision of Reproductive Medicine, Embryology and Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, Damascus UniversityAbstract Background Breastfeeding self-efficacy signifies a mother’s confidence in her ability to breastfeed. Sleep quality, on the other hand, refers to the effectiveness of sleep. Low sleep quality is a common issue faced by new mothers during the postpartum period. It remains unclear whether there is a connection between a mother’s perception of breastfeeding self-efficacy, which has a positive effect on breastfeeding, and sleep quality during the postpartum period. This study aims to determine the relationship between sleep quality and breastfeeding self-efficacy among primiparous mothers during the postpartum period, while also examining the impact of different demographic factors. Materials and methods This descriptive study included 316 primiparous women who delivered babies in Damascus, Syria. Data were gathered using a questionnaire comprising 53 questions divided into three sections: demographic information, the Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale-Short Form (BSES-SF), and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Participants’ answers were collected via telephone interviews conducted by the authors, along with an electronic version of the questionnaire that was distributed online. IBM SPSS was used to perform descriptive statistics, independent t-tests, one-way ANOVA, MANOVA, post hoc tests, and Pearson correlation analyses. A P-value of < 0.05 was considered to indicate statistical significance for all the analyses. Results A significant negative correlation emerged between maternal breastfeeding self-efficacy and PSQI scores. The gender distribution of the newborns yielded significant differences in maternal sleep quality as assessed using the PSQI but not in terms of the mean score on the BSES-SF. Maternal age was positively correlated with maternal breastfeeding self-efficacy and PSQI scores. Regarding education level and overall sleep quality, a significant difference was observed, as mothers with higher education levels tended to have lower overall sleep quality, but no relation to breastfeeding self-efficacy was detected. The multivariate analysis showed a positive correlation between breastfeeding self-efficiency and higher financial status. No significant differences were found in relation to type of delivery or infant age or residential factors. Conclusions Research findings indicated a positive correlation between the breastfeeding self-efficacy of postpartum women and their overall sleep quality, with an observed increase in breastfeeding self-efficacy as sleep quality improved.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-22709-0Postpartum periodSleep qualityBreastfeeding self-efficacyPittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI)Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale-Short form (BSES-SF)Primiparous.
spellingShingle Alaa Aldairy
Jamal Ataya
Dana Haymoun
Roula Samer Kashlan
Joudi Kouran
Nagham Amouna
Dema Adwan
Marwan Alhalabi
Motherhood unveiled: examining the dynamic relationship between sleep quality and breastfeeding confidence in postpartum primiparous women in Syria: a cross-sectional study
BMC Public Health
Postpartum period
Sleep quality
Breastfeeding self-efficacy
Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI)
Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale-Short form (BSES-SF)
Primiparous.
title Motherhood unveiled: examining the dynamic relationship between sleep quality and breastfeeding confidence in postpartum primiparous women in Syria: a cross-sectional study
title_full Motherhood unveiled: examining the dynamic relationship between sleep quality and breastfeeding confidence in postpartum primiparous women in Syria: a cross-sectional study
title_fullStr Motherhood unveiled: examining the dynamic relationship between sleep quality and breastfeeding confidence in postpartum primiparous women in Syria: a cross-sectional study
title_full_unstemmed Motherhood unveiled: examining the dynamic relationship between sleep quality and breastfeeding confidence in postpartum primiparous women in Syria: a cross-sectional study
title_short Motherhood unveiled: examining the dynamic relationship between sleep quality and breastfeeding confidence in postpartum primiparous women in Syria: a cross-sectional study
title_sort motherhood unveiled examining the dynamic relationship between sleep quality and breastfeeding confidence in postpartum primiparous women in syria a cross sectional study
topic Postpartum period
Sleep quality
Breastfeeding self-efficacy
Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI)
Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale-Short form (BSES-SF)
Primiparous.
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-22709-0
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