Background:

Breastfeeding provides perfect nutrition for infants. The inverted nipples in mothers make breastfeeding more challenging. Besides surgical approaches, non-pharmacological interventions are also gaining importance.

Research Aim:

To evaluate the effectiveness of Hoffman’s exercise on breastfeeding among postnatal mothers with grade I inverted nipples.

Method:

A quantitative approach with a parallel arm randomized controlled trial was used in the study. Postnatal mothers were screened for inverted nipples using a pinch test. Participants with at least one inverted nipple (Grade 1) were randomly allocated into two groups: the experimental group (supported with Hoffman’s exercise; n = 28, 50.9% ) and the control group (without Hoffman’s exercise; n = 27, 49.1%). The pre-test data, including demographics, nipple length, and breastfeeding assessment, were collected. Breastfeeding assessment was evaluated using the Bristol Breastfeeding Assessment Tool (BBAT). On the 3rd day, the post-test data, including nipple length and Breastfeeding Assessment, were collected among the groups.

Results:

The BBAT assessment was significantly higher in the post-test compared to that of the pre-test in the participants provided with Hoffman’s exercise. The nipple length was found to be higher in participants provided with Hoffman’s exercise. Furthermore, the variables—including age, gravida, nipple problems, and delivery type—were not found to have any significant effect with either pre-test or post-test levels of breastfeeding.

Conclusions:

Hoffman’s exercise was found to be an effective method to improve breastfeeding in Grade 1 nipple-inverted among post-natal mothers. This nipple exercise is inexpensive, easy to follow, and results in the successful initiation of breastfeeding.

Clinical Trial Registry and Registration Number:

CTRI/2019/05/019279, May 23, 2019 (retrospectively registered)

中文翻译：

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霍夫曼运动对 1 级乳头内陷产后妈妈的疗效

背景：

母乳喂养为婴儿提供完美的营养。妈妈的乳头凹陷使母乳喂养更具挑战性。除了手术方法，非药物干预也越来越重要。

研究目的：

评估霍夫曼运动对 I 级乳头内陷产后母亲母乳喂养的效果。

方法：

研究中使用了具有平行臂随机对照试验的定量方法。产后母亲使用挤压测试筛查乳头内陷。至少有一个乳头内陷（1 级）的参与者被随机分配到两组：实验组（支持霍夫曼运动；n = 28, 50.9%）和对照组（没有霍夫曼运动；n = 27, 49.1%） . 收集了预测试数据，包括人口统计数据、乳头长度和母乳喂养评估。使用 Bristol 母乳喂养评估工具 (BBAT) 评估母乳喂养评估。第 3 天，收集各组的测试后数据，包括乳头长度和母乳喂养评估。

结果：

与提供霍夫曼练习的参与者相比，后测的 BBAT 评估明显高于前测。发现参加霍夫曼运动的参与者的乳头长度更长。此外，未发现变量（包括年龄、妊娠、乳头问题和分娩类型）对测试前或测试后的母乳喂养水平有任何显着影响。

结论：

霍夫曼运动被发现是改善产后母亲 1 级乳头内陷母乳喂养的有效方法。这种乳头锻炼价格低廉，易于遵循，并且可以成功开始母乳喂养。

临床试验注册和注册号：

CTRI/2019/05/019279, 2019-05-23（追溯注册）