Childbirth, connecting the stages of pregnancy and postpartum, deeply affects maternal motivation with regard to initiating and continuing postnatal breastfeeding and ultimate breastfeeding success. Although promoting breastfeeding is a strategy critical to achieving wellbeing in both mothers and infants, there remains a lack of professional attention and related research into the effect of childbirth on breastfeeding. Promoting successful breastfeeding is a central component of childbirth-friendly nursing care. Therefore, this paper introduces the origin and concepts of mother-and-infant-friendly childbirth, then analyzes the influences on breastfeeding of medicalized birth practices and suggests how to implement childbirth-friendly interventions. This paper was written to help nurses better understand how the childbirth process affects breastfeeding and provide a reference for creating conditions during childbirth that encourage successful breastfeeding practices.
Keywords: breastfeeding; childbirth practices; childbirth-friendly; medicalization.