Effect of using smartphone during breast-feeding

Abstract

With the spread of smartphones, mothers who operate smartphones while breast-feeding are increasing. This kind of activities are sometimes defined as a bad behavior although this is one of few repose in parenting. In this paper, we investigate if the use of smartphone affects the breast-feeding from the viewpoints of the mother’s posture and the quality of communication between the mother and the baby. We measure the behavior of the mother with/without smartphone using wearable sensors and video camera. As a result of the survey, sensor data did not show the significant difference in the mother’s posture. In the observation of the video camera, the inclination of a mother’s back was different depending on the presence or absence of a smartphone operation. As a result of research on communication with infants, it was longer for mothers to notice changes in their baby while operating smartphones. In the future, in order to reduce mother’s stress, we will consider how to operate smartphones properly, instead of prohibiting operation of smartphones for nursing care.