The effect of early breastfeeding on maternal oxidative stress.

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After birth with cesarean section, mothers and neonates are exposed to oxidative stress. Human milk contains components that protect the infant from infections and the oxidative stress caused during transition from intrauterine to extrauterine life. Human milk is very well known to have antioxidative properties. Brest-fed children were shown to have higher antioxidative capacity in blood and lower oxidative stress compared to formula-fed infants (Szalagatys 2004, Korchazhkina 2006). In many hospitals in Turkey, our usual practice during cesarean section is handling the baby to a neonatal team, consisting of pediatricians or a mid-wife, who remove the baby to a radiant warmer right after birth and giving the baby back to mother in the ward, after one or two hours period of observation in the recovery room. Immediate skin to skin care and early breastfeeding, was shown to promote maternal-neonatal bonding and thermoregulation of the infants (Burke- Aaronson, 2015) as well as reducing the delay of lactation and the likelihood of formula supplementation (Stevens 2014). Implementing immediate skin to skin care is recommended in many latest international reports for the well being of the neonate (Crenshaw 2014, Burke-Aaronson 2015). Besides the well known positive effects on the infants, the effect of skin to skin contact and early breastfeeding on maternal oxidative stress and antioxidant capacity is not studied before. In this study, we aim to find whether or not early breastfeeding during cesarean section, prevents the maternal oxidative stress. In addition, we also aim to analyse whether there is any correlation between the maternal oxytocin levels and total antioxidant capacity or total oxidant status. Our secondary aim in this study is to evaluate the relation between postoperative pain and postoperative oxytocin levels.

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