Appropriate Breastfeeding Techniques Reduce the Incidence of Breast engorgement in Postpartum Mothers

Abstract

Breastfeeding is a maternal task that is often stressful for postpartum mothers. Many postpartum mothers at the beginning of breastfeeding experience difficulties in breastfeeding due to a lack of knowledge about breastfeeding techniques, resulting in breast problems. Proper breastfeeding technique will prevent the mother from breast nipple blisters, the mother feels comfortable while breastfeeding, breastfeeding is adequate, and there is no breast engorgement. This study aims to determine the relationship between breastfeeding techniques and the incidence of breast engorgement in postpartum mothers at Manyaran Community Health Center, Semarang City. This study used a descriptive correlation design with a cross-sectional approach. A total of 82 postpartum mothers were sampled through consecutive sampling techniques. The results showed that postpartum mothers with proper breastfeeding techniques were 65% and those who did not experience breast engorgement were 54.9%. Spearman Rank correlation test showed a significant relationship between breastfeeding techniques and the incidence of breast engorgements in postpartum mothers (ρ value of 0.000 <0.05) with a correlation coefficient of -0.0693. This means that there is a strong relationship between breastfeeding technique and the incidence of breast engorgement in postpartum mothers at Puskesmas Manyaran Semarang and has a negative direction. This means that the better the breastfeeding technique of postpartum mothers, the lower the incidence of breast engorgement.