Sağlık Profesyonellerinin Emzirmenin Sonlandırılması Konusunda Bilgi, Görüş ve Deneyimleri: Tanımlayıcı Çalışma

Abstract

Objective: This study was performed to determine knowledge, opinions, and experiences about weaning in physicians, nurses, and midwives working in the field of pediatrics. Material and Methods: This descriptive study included 242 health professionals working in family health centers and pediatrics clinics of hospitals in Aydın city of Türkiye. Data were obtained with a questionnaire and analyzed with descriptive statistics, student's t-test, and one-way variance analysis. Results: Of all the participants, 90.5% thought health professionals are responsible for helping mothers during weaning, 28% used traditional methods of weaning or had a child weaned by using traditional methods, 45% received education about weaning during their undergraduate education, 19% received education about weaning after their graduation, 57.9% were asked by parents to provide counseling about weaning and 37.9% of them admitted having difficulty in offering counseling about it. The mean score for knowledge of weaning was 10.6±2.23 (minimum-maximum scores: 0-14). The health professionals working in the family health centers had a significantly higher score for knowledge of weaning (p<0.05). Conclusion: Health professionals should be aware of mothers' needs for support about weaning and give as much importance to weaning as initiation and maintenance of breastfeeding. Counseling skills of health professionals should be improved about weaning.