Abstract
To verify the association of nursing mothers' self-efficacy for breastfeeding in the immediate postpartum period and six months after birth and obstetric and sociodemographic variables with the duration of exclusive breastfeeding. Observational, longitudinal, prospective study which followed nursing mothers from the immediate postpartum period to the sixth month postpartum in a municipality in Southern Brazil. For data collection, a questionnaire with sociodemographic and obstetric variables and the scale Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale - short form - were employed in the maternity ward and six months after birth. Inferential and descriptive statistics were employed. A total of 158 nursing mothers have participated. The prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding in the sixth month was 36.70%, out of which 77.34% have presented a high self-efficacy score. Sociodemographic factors had a negative impact on exclusive breastfeeding. High levels of self-efficacy favor exclusive breastfeeding; however, such factor, in isolation, is not decisive for exclusive breastfeeding. Self-efficacy should be identified during the pre-natal period through mothers' employment and marital status data to promote preventive actions against early weaning.
Highlights
Breastfeeding (BF) is a multifactorial theme of life in society which has been discussed for a long time with no success in expanding it into a widely accepted and adopted social practice
The data reveal that most study participants presented high scores of BF self-efficacy both in the postpartum period (87.34%) and in the infants’ sixth month of life (77.34%)
They have shown confidence in their ability to provide Exclusive Breastfeeding (EBF), its prevalence in the sixth month was inferior to 50%
Summary
Breastfeeding (BF) is a multifactorial theme of life in society which has been discussed for a long time with no success in expanding it into a widely accepted and adopted social practice. Despite the evident benefits of providing Exclusive Breastfeeding (EBF) until infants are six months old, the last three decades have seen a reduction in its predominance in the Brazilian population[2]. In Brazil, the prevalence of EBF is 41%, a number which varies among its regions; prevalence in the South is 43.9%(2). In Brazil, the promotion of EBF protection and support is permeated by public policies for its encouragement both in hospitalization and primary care[3,4]. In addition to policies, other aspects involving women from the pre-natal to the postpartum periods should be considered; these may influence both their intentions of breastfeeding and the duration of EBF
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