The relationship between paternal breastfeeding support self-efficacy and maternal breastfeeding behavior at 6 weeks postpartum: the mediating role of breastfeeding knowledge
- 1Nursing Department, Shenzhen Bao’an District Songgang People’s Hospital, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
- 2Nursing Department, Fujian Provincial Maternity and Children's Hospital, Fuzhou, Fujian, China
Abstract
Breastfeeding is universally recognized as the optimal method of infant feeding, and fathers, as mothers’ intimate partners, serve a critical supportive function throughout the breastfeeding process; however, the specific pathways through which paternal breastfeeding support self-efficacy is associated with early postpartum breastfeeding behavior remain unclear. This cross-sectional study, conducted between February and December 2024, recruited 454 mother–father dyads at 6 weeks postpartum from a tertiary maternal and child health hospital in Fujian Province, China. Data were collected using the Paternal Breastfeeding Support Self-Efficacy Scale, the Maternal Breastfeeding Behavior Scale for the Puerperium, and the Breastfeeding Knowledge Questionnaire, and were analyzed using Pearson correlation, multiple linear regression, and structural equation modeling with bootstrap mediation testing in the lavaan package in R 4.3.1. Paternal breastfeeding support self-efficacy (PBSSE) was positively correlated with maternal breastfeeding knowledge and with maternal breastfeeding behavior at 6 weeks postpartum, and maternal breastfeeding knowledge was positively correlated with breastfeeding behavior (all p < 0.01). Path analysis indicated that PBSSE was indirectly associated with breastfeeding behavior at 6 weeks postpartum through maternal breastfeeding knowledge (indirect effect β = 0.131, 95% CI: 0.030–0.234), with the mediating effect accounting for 24.14% of the total effect; the direct effect remained significant (β = 0.412, p < 0.001), indicating partial mediation. These findings suggest that, in clinical practice, attending to fathers’ self-efficacy and strengthening breastfeeding knowledge education for mothers may help optimize breastfeeding behavior during the early postpartum period. Because the design was cross-sectional, the observed mediation should be interpreted as a statistical association rather than a causal mechanism.
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BibTeX
@article{li2026relationship,
title = {{The relationship between paternal breastfeeding support self-efficacy and maternal breastfeeding behavior at 6 weeks postpartum: the mediating role of breastfeeding knowledge}},
author = {Minghui Li and Yingping Wang and Cuiling Xie and Jingyi Li and Xiaoqian Chen and Yuqing Pan and Fang Chen and Xiumin Jiang},
journal = {Frontiers in Psychology},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1915683},
url = {https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1915683},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - The relationship between paternal breastfeeding support self-efficacy and maternal breastfeeding behavior at 6 weeks postpartum: the mediating role of breastfeeding knowledge
AU - Minghui Li
AU - Yingping Wang
AU - Cuiling Xie
AU - Jingyi Li
AU - Xiaoqian Chen
AU - Yuqing Pan
AU - Fang Chen
AU - Xiumin Jiang
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/21
JO - Frontiers in Psychology
DO - 10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1915683
UR - https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1915683
AB - Breastfeeding is universally recognized as the optimal method of infant feeding, and fathers, as mothers’ intimate partners, serve a critical supportive function throughout the breastfeeding process; however, the specific pathways through which paternal breastfeeding support self-efficacy is associated with early postpartum breastfeeding behavior remain unclear. This cross-sectional study, conducted between February and December 2024, recruited 454 mother–father dyads at 6 weeks postpartum from a tertiary maternal and child health hospital in Fujian Province, China. Data were collected using the Paternal Breastfeeding Support Self-Efficacy Scale, the Maternal Breastfeeding Behavior Scale for the Puerperium, and the Breastfeeding Knowledge Questionnaire, and were analyzed using Pearson correlation, multiple linear regression, and structural equation modeling with bootstrap mediation testing in the lavaan package in R 4.3.1. Paternal breastfeeding support self-efficacy (PBSSE) was positively correlated with maternal breastfeeding knowledge and with maternal breastfeeding behavior at 6 weeks postpartum, and maternal breastfeeding knowledge was positively correlated with breastfeeding behavior (all p < 0.01). Path analysis indicated that PBSSE was indirectly associated with breastfeeding behavior at 6 weeks postpartum through maternal breastfeeding knowledge (indirect effect β = 0.131, 95% CI: 0.030–0.234), with the mediating effect accounting for 24.14% of the total effect; the direct effect remained significant (β = 0.412, p < 0.001), indicating partial mediation. These findings suggest that, in clinical practice, attending to fathers’ self-efficacy and strengthening breastfeeding knowledge education for mothers may help optimize breastfeeding behavior during the early postpartum period. Because the design was cross-sectional, the observed mediation should be interpreted as a statistical association rather than a causal mechanism.
SN - 1664-1078
ER -