Endogenous oxytocin levels in extracted saliva elevates during breastfeeding correlated with lower postpartum anxiety in primiparous mothers.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Breastfeeding in the early postpartum period is expected to have mental benefits for mothers; however, the underlying psychobiological mechanisms remain unclear. Previously, we hypothesized that the release of oxytocin in response to the suckling stimuli during breastfeeding would mediate a calming effect on primiparous mothers, and we examined salivary oxytocin measurements in primiparous mothers at postpartum day 4 using saliva samples without extraction, which was erroneous. Thus, further confirmation of this hypothesis with a precise methodology was needed.

Methods

We collected saliva samples at three time points (baseline, feeding, and post-feeding) to measure oxytocin in 24 primiparous mothers on postpartum day 2 (PD2) and 4 (PD4) across the breastfeeding cy

SUBMITTER: Nagahashi-Araki M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9482205 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature