Attitudes toward breastfeeding of mothers breastfeeding 0-6-month-old infants during the Covid-19 pandemic and impacting factors

Abstract


 Objective: This study was conducted to identify the attitudes towards breastfeeding of mothers breastfeeding their 0-6-month-old infants during the Covid-19 pandemic, and to determine impacting factors. Method: It is a descriptive study. The study was carried out over the period May-July 2021 with mothers (n=400) who were breastfeeding their 0-6-month-old infants in Turkey. The snowball sampling method was used in the study. Data were collected by means of an online form on google.docs program. A “Descriptive Data Form” and the “Infant Feeding Attitude Scale” were used in the data collection. The analysis of the data was performed using the Shapiro-Wilk, Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis H tests. Significance for the study was accepted as p<0,05. Results: The mean “Infant Feeding Attitude Scale” score of the mothers participating in the study was found to be 65.05±6.746 (min=30, max=83). A significant difference was found between the mothers’ “Infant Feeding Attitude Scale” scores and their age, education and employment status. A significant difference was found between the mothers’ “Infant Feeding Attitude Scale” scores and their feeding their infants’ formula in addition to breastfeeding, the frequency of their breastfeeding, and their use of a baby bottle. Conclusion: It was found that mothers who were bottle-feeding their infants with formula in addition to breastfeeding had more negative attitudes and behaviors toward breastfeeding. It is recommended that mothers in the risk group who have a negative impact on breastfeeding be identified early on and that during the pandemic, breastfeeding education programs be continued without interruption and presented by health professionals such as nurses, doctors and midwives.