ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Med.
Sec. Obstetrics and Gynecology
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmed.2025.1608027
Effect of midwife-led continuity of care combined with individualized breast management on postpartum recovery and lactation function in women undergoing cesarean section
Provisionally accepted
- Second Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Nantong, China
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Objective The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of midwife-led continuity of care (MLCC) combined with individualized breast management on postoperative recovery, lactation function, and pelvic floor function in women undergoing cesarean section (CS). Methods This quasi-experimental before–after study included 120 women who underwent CS between December 2022 and December 2024. Participants were assigned to a control or intervention group (n = 60 each). The control group received routine perioperative care; the intervention group received MLCC plus individualized breast management. Breastfeeding education was emphasized, and breast management strategies were tailored to each participant’s breast condition. The primary outcome was exclusive breastfeeding at 48 hours postpartum. Secondary outcomes included postoperative recovery indicators (time to ambulation, bowel movement, flatus, catheter removal, and wound healing), other lactation measures (time to initiation and adequacy, and milk volume at 48 h), psychological status, pain level, sleep quality, breastfeeding self-efficacy, pelvic floor dysfunction, complications, care satisfaction, and quality of life. Results Exclusive breastfeeding at 48 h was higher in the intervention group (56.67% vs 38.33%). The intervention group showed shorter times to first ambulation (P = 0.024), bowel movement (P = 0.016), defecation (P = 0.008), and catheter removal (P = 0.014). Lactation improved with earlier initiation (P = 0.015), shorter time to adequacy (P < 0.001), and greater milk volume at 48 h (P < 0.001). The intervention group also had lower Visual Analog Scale (VAS), Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS), and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) scores during hospitalization and at 3-month follow-up (all P < 0.05). Pelvic floor dysfunction showed a nonsignificant decreasing trend (P > 0.05). Complications were fewer (10% vs 25%, P = 0.031). Nursing care satisfaction and quality of life were significantly improved. Conclusion MLCC combined with individualized breast management improved postoperative recovery and lactation in women delivering by CS, offering an effective, clinically applicable maternity-care model.
Keywords: Midwife-led continuity of care, individualized breast management, Cesarean Section, Postpartum recovery, Lactation function, complications, Satisfaction
Received: 08 Apr 2025; Accepted: 25 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Cai, Lu, Kang and Chen. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Liping Chen, jichen0816@outlook.com
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.