Survey of Serbian mothers (2015)

Many studies have looked at benefits of breastfeeding for the baby and, less frequently, the mother. Though many women find breastfeeding difficult, few studies have looked at the potential costs of breastfeeding for this group. From January 19th, 2015 trough April 18th, 2015, 1980 Serbian mothers completed an online survey consisting of 74 questions which addressed their satisfaction with various areas of life. Mothers were divided into four groups depending on their breastfeeding experience: those who enjoy breastfeeding (Group 1), those who breastfeed despite finding it difficult (Group 2), those who do not breastfeed because they find it difficult, but otherwise would (Group 3) and those who do not breastfeed because “it’s their choice” (Group 4). Group 2 scored lower than Group 1 on 25 out of 26 indicators of satisfaction. Group 3 scored higher than Group 2 on 19 out of 26 indicators. We found a remarkably consistent drop in satisfaction across many areas of life between women who breastfeed joyfully and those who do it out of a sense of duty. As public pressure on women to breastfeed mounts, distinction between these two kinds of breastfeeding experiences should be kept in mind.