Abstract
Postpartum depression (PPD) affects up to 15% to 20% of new mothers globally, imposing substantial challenges on maternal psychological health, mother-infant bonding, and child developmental outcomes. Although breastfeeding is widely promoted for its immunological and physical health benefits, lactation difficulties can trigger acute psychological distress, guilt, and symptoms of depression when maternal expectations collide with reality. Self-compassion—a construct encompassing self-kindness, common humanity, and mindfulness—has emerged as a crucial psychological buffer against maternal affect dysregulation. This longitudinal mixed-methods study investigated the dynamic relationship between self-compassion and PPD trajectories among breastfeeding mothers (N = 214) across three postpartum time points: 2 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months post-delivery. Quantitative measures utilizing the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and the Self-Compassion Scale–Short Form (SCS-SF) revealed a statistically significant, strong inverse relationship between self-compassion and depressive symptoms across all time points (p < .001). Linear mixed-effects modeling demonstrated that higher baseline self-compassion significantly attenuated the impact of early lactation problems on subsequent PPD severity. Qualitative thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews with a subset of participants (n = 25) illuminated three primary themes: 'Unrealistic Lactation Expectations and Maternal Guilt', 'Shifting from Self-Criticism to Self-Acceptance', and 'The Protective Role of Self-Compassionate Self-Talk'. These findings demonstrate that self-compassion serves as an effective psychological mechanism against postpartum affective disorders, highlighting the importance of incorporating self-compassion training into perinatal lactation support programs.
