Breastfeeding related neck pain among lactating mothers in selected hospitals in Bafoussam, Cameroon: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Breastfeeding is an unrivaled way of providing ideal food for healthy growth and development of infants. However, as important as breastfeeding is for the child’s health, it can affect the mother’s physical health, by causing musculoskeletal disorders like breastfeeding related neck pain (BFRNP). BFRNP has not yet been addressed in Cameroonian literature. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the prevalence and the associated factors of breastfeeding related neck pain among lactating mothers in two hospitals of Bafoussam, Cameroon. A cross-sectional survey was conducted from 1st to 29th February 2024 among breastfeeding women in two hospitals in the city of Bafoussam. Were excluded from the study, all women having a specific neck pain. With an exhaustive technique, this study included 110 breastfeeding mothers. Data on the general characteristics of the population, the occurrence of BFRNP and its characteristics were collected face to face with breast-feeding mothers, using a structured questionnaire. Data collected were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences, version 23. Binary logistic regression was used to determine the association between BFRNP and general characteristics. The level of significance was set at P ˂ 0.05 and the confidence interval at 95%. The prevalence of breastfeeding related neck pain was 35.45%. For most women in the study, pain was mild (56.4%) and usually happened during breastfeeding (56.4%). Also, pain lasted less than 10 min in most women (56.4%) and occurred about once a week (48.7%). After logistic regression, the “football hold " position (AOR = 8.70; 95% CI: [1.18–63.8]; p = .033); the “inverted cradle” position (AOR = 3.35; 95% CI: [1.03–10.9]; p = .044) and child’s weight between 5.1 and 8 kg (AOR = 5.14; 95% CI: [1.61–16.3]; p = .006) were found to be significant risk factors. These findings underscore the importance of targeted education for lactating mothers on ergonomic breastfeeding