38 Results also showed

that the odds of bottle-feeding increased with the severity of maternal depression.38 Another recent study indicated an association between breastfeeding cessation at four months postpartum and higher depressive symptoms at one month after delivery, showing that mothers who continued to breastfeed at four months had lower depression scores at one month than those who stopped breastfeeding.36 Research has also been focusing on the association between breastfeeding and depression in pregnancy and postpartum depression. A recent study showed that higher levels of depression and anxiety during pregnancy Topoisomerase inhibitor were associated with breastfeeding cessation, and that breastfeeding cessation predicted higher levels of anxiety and depression after birth.55 Moreover, the results showed an interaction effect between anxiety and depression levels at pregnancy and six months postpartum and breastfeeding cessation, so that baseline levels anxiety and depression are increased at six months postpartum by the effect of breastfeeding cessation.55 Another recent study on the association between breastfeeding and depression in pregnancy and postpartum depression concluded that higher depression scores at the third trimester of pregnancy predicted lower exclusive

breastfeeding duration.30 This study also found a decrease in depressive symptoms in women who initiated selleck compound or maintained exclusive breastfeeding for three or more months.30 The association between breastfeeding and depression has also been studied, taking into account both parents. A study undertaken to trigger the association between breastfeeding and mental health

of both the parents concluded that the simultaneous presence of mental disorders in both the mother and the father was not associated with the early breastfeeding cessation (before four months).56 However, mothers tended to breastfeed for a longer period of time when they felt that their partners actively supported breastfeeding.56 Research has been showing that breastfeeding promotes hormonal and psychological conditions Histamine H2 receptor and processes that are inversely associated with postpartum depression. However, the simultaneous study of these dimensions and their potential explanatory value in the connection between breastfeeding and pre- and postpartum depression has not yet been accomplished. It is possible that the positive effects of breastfeeding may outweigh the positive effects of antidepressants”.26 Even when the potential harmful effects of medication are taken into account, some studies suggest that women with postpartum depression who are taking antidepressant should not discontinue breastfeeding.57 Lactogenic hormones, oxytocin and prolactin, are associated with anti-depressant and anxiolytic effects.