Abstract:

Objective To explore the effects of neonatal breast crawling on postpartum lactation and early breastfeeding among women with natural delivery. Methods Women with natural delivery in a class A hospital of Anhui Province from February 1 to May 31,2021 were divided into experimental group（February 1 to March 31,n=68） and the control group（April 1 to May 31,n=62）. The neonatal breast crawling and actively seeking breast sucking was adopted in the experimental group while passive sucking was used in the control group. Serum prolactin,estradiol and progesterone were detected the next morning after the delivery. The first breastfeeding time,lactation initiation time and delay of lactation initiation were recorded. Results During the study,9 cases were excluded from the experimental group and 3 cases were excluded from the control group,with 59 participants in both groups. The serum PRL concentration in the experimental group was higher than that in the control group （Z=2.822,P=0.005）. The serum E2 was lower than that of the control group（Z=2.056,P=0.040）. The first breastfeeding time was longer than that of the control group（Z=4.154,P<0.001）,the lactation start time was earlier than that of the control group（Z=2.987,P=0.003）,and the lactation start delay rate was lower than that of the control group（ χ²=4.196,P=0.041）. Conclusion The new-born breast crawling can promote postpartum lactation and early breastfeeding.

Key words: Breast Feeding, Natural Childbirth, Infant,Newborn, Breast crawling