Background: There is no consensus whether circumcision performed in the first months of life has negative effects on feeding, sleep, and maternal attachment in babies. This prospective study aimed to investigate this relation in the first months of life. This study is the first to investigate the effects of circumcision on feeding, sleep, and maternal attachment simultaneously.
Methods: The study group consisted of 75 families with their babies aged 0-4 months. Surgical circumcision procedure under regional anesthesia was applied to all patients. The questionnaires were used to evaluate the babies' feeding and sleeping habits, and the Maternal Attachment Inventory (MAI) was used to assess mother-baby attachment level. All assessments were performed before and one month after the circumcision.
Results: The mean age of the patients when circumcision was performed was 75 (74.52 ± 37.03) (3-120) days. The mean ages of mothers were 32 (32.51 ± 4.05) years. There was no statistically significant change in the sleep habits and feeding status of babies before and after circumcision. The mean maternal attachment value before circumcision was 101 (98.89 ± 6.77) points, while it was 103 (101.36 ± 4.21) points after circumcision. This result indicates that the maternal attachment score increased significantly after circumcision (p < 0.001).
Conclusions: The circumcision performed under regional anesthesia between 0 and 4 months did not have any negative effect on sleep, feeding, and maternal attachment in babies.
Keywords: Breastfeeding; Circumcision; Maternal attachment; Maternal attachment inventory; Mother-infant interaction; Sleep.
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