The effects of papaya leaf juice for breastfeeding and working mothers on increasing prolactin hormone levels and infant's weight in Tangerang

Abstract Based on preliminary studies, it is known that 80% of working mothers fail to make exclusive breastfeeding, on average babies are given formula milk 2–4 months old and stop breastfeeding at 6–18 months of age. Papaya leaves are one of the galactagogues that contain quercetin which can activate the hormone prolactin and help increase breastmilk. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of giving papaya leaf juice for nursing mothers who work toward increasing levels of the hormone prolactin and infant weight in Tangerang. The research design used was a pre-experimental model with one group pretest–posttest design. Samples taken as many as 10 mothers who have babies aged 0–6 months who have difficulty in breastfeeding because the amount of breastmilk was a little. The study was conducted in several clinics in Tangerang. The intervention was giving papaya leaf juice for 7 consecutive days. The results obtained from this study are as follows: 90% of mothers aged between 20 and 35 years, 70% of mothers have a history of spontaneous labor and have no complications at the time of delivery, 40% of mother's education is junior high school (SMP), and 70% of mothers are primiparas. The average increase in the amount of prolactin after the intervention was 19.59 ng/ml, while the average weight gain of the newborn after the intervention was 165 g. Wilcoxon test results for increased levels of the hormone prolactin p-value of 0.047  Conclusion There is an effect of giving papaya leaf juice for nursing mothers who work on increasing levels of the hormone prolactin and infant weight in Tangerang. Papaya leaf juice can be a galactagogue for mothers who experience problems with a small amount of breastmilk.