The impact of mothers’ postnatal sense of security on their breastfeeding self-efficacy and postpartum depression

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed at determining the impact of mothers' postnatal sense of security on their breastfeeding self-efficacy and postpartum depression. Method: An analytical cross-sectional study was designed. The study included a total of 340 puerperal women who were admitted to the puerperal ward of a state hospital located in southern Turkey. The data for this study were collected using the puerperal women information sheet (PWIS), the Mothers’ Postnatal Sense of Security Scale (MPSSS), the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), and the Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale-Short Form (BSES-SF). Results: It was determined that the mean age of the participants was 27.92 ± 5.12, educational background 40.2% of them were undergraduate and higher graduates, 71.1% of them were not working. The mean scale scores of the mothers were 47.86 ± 10.36 for MPSSS, 53.69 ± 11.23 for BSES-SF, and 8.79 ± 5.67 for EPDS. The sub-scale scores for MPSSS were as follows: Empowering behaviors: 16.75 ± 5.1, General well-being: 11.18 ± 3.49, Affinity Within the Family: 11.82 ± 3.4, and Breastfeeding: 8.11 ± 2.53. Empowering behaviors scores were found to be moderately positively correlated with Affinity Within the Family, Breastfeeding, and BSES-SF scores (p