Background/Objective: Various dietary factors, including the daily food intake during pregnancy and lactation can play a role in the development of lactational mastitis (LM). To investigate the effect of the most commonly consumed fermented foods (FF) during pregnancy and lactation in Turkey and other factors described in the literature regarding childbirth and breastfeeding on the development of LM. Materials and Methods: The study included 607 volunteers in the lactational period, of whom 303 had LM and 304 had no mastitis event. The data on sociodemographics, childbirth, and breastfeeding, and the consumption frequency of six types of FF were collected through a face-to-face questionnaire. Results: The variables significantly and independently associated with LM were birth week (odds ratio [OR] = 80.83, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.12-1.94), birth weight (OR = 0.63, CI: 1.24-1.79), time to breastfeeding after birth (OR = 0.79, CI: 1.62-2.31), breastfeeding length (OR = 0.12, CI: 2.25-2.78), breast preference (OR = 0.13, CI: 2.83-3.42), use of cream on nipples (OR = 0.81, CI: 1.31-1.97), use of oral probiotics (OR = 0.29, CI: 1.86-2.92), and receiving breastfeeding education from an expert (OR = 0.22, CI: 1.22-2.34). According to the multinominal logistic regression analysis, the daily consumption of kefir (OR = 0.69, CI: 1.18-2.22), homemade yogurt (OR = 0.78, CI: 1.14-1.87), conventional yogurt (OR = 0.81, CI: 1.24-2.46), boza (OR = 0.79, CI: 2.19-2.99), tarhana (OR = 0.52, CI: 2.47-2.81), and pickles (OR = 0.22, CI: 1.22-2.34) significantly reduced the risk of LM development. The diversity of consumed FF was also found to be protective against LM (OR = 0.34, CI: 1.34-2.35). Conclusion: Kefir, homemade and conventional yogurt, boza, tarhana, and pickles can protect breastfeeding mothers and also reduce the risk of LM development.
Keywords: fermented food; lactational mastitis; probiotics.