COMPARISON OF BREASTFEEDING SELF-EFFICACY AMONG MOTHERS OF HOSPITALIZED AND NON-HOSPITALIZED NEWBORN, DURING THE FIRST WEEK, THE FIRST MONTH AND THE THIRD MONTH AFTER CHILDBIRTH

Breast milk is the best food for all neonates. Self-efficacy includes the belief and
confidence of the individual in his ability to perform health behaviors, including exclusive successful
breastfeeding. Self-efficacy in breastfeeding is vital for breastfeeding continuation. In addition, selfefficacy
is an important variable in predicting the duration of breastfeeding, as well as the identification
of mothers who terminate their breastfeeding promptly. The aim of this study was to compare Breastfeeding
Self-Efficacy in mothers with infants admitted in the neonatal ward and mothers with healthy
infants in the first week, the first month and third month after delivery.
Materials & Methods: This present descriptive study has been performed in Isabn-E-Maryam Hospital.
The number of individuals in each group of mothers with infants admitted in the neonatal ward and
mothers with healthy infants was 49 who met the criteria for entering the study. Convenience sampling
was used for the selection of the participants. The data were collected by a two-part questionnaire.
Demographic data were collected in the first part of the questionnaire and the Dennis Breastfeeding
Self-Efficacy Scale-Short form was the second part of the questionnaire. To analyze the data,
independent t-test, co-variance and variance with repeated observations were used and data were
analyzed using SPSS-18 software. In the hospitalized group, most neonates were admitted because of
pathological jaundice.
Results: The two groups of mothers with infants admitted in the neonatal ward and mothers with healthy
infants were homogeneous. In both groups, mother’s Breast-feeding Self-Efficacy average was more
than 52.22 which indicated a good attitude of mothers and showed that mothers were in favorable
condition. In the hospitalized neonates’ group, most neonates were admitted because of pathological
jaundice. The mean of Breast-feeding Self-Efficacy scores of mothers and Breast-feeding Self-Efficacy
was not significantly different between the two groups at any time and in any of the three times between
two groups (P> 0.05).
Conclusion: In this study, although Breast-feeding Self-Efficacy in two groups of mothers was not
significantly varied at different postpartum intervals, Breast-feeding Self-Efficacy of mothers with
infants who were admitted to the newborns was lower than those mothers whose babies was healthy,
which may be due to the mental and environmental conditions of the mothers following the admission
of the newborn babies. The Breast-feeding Self-Efficacy in the group of mothers with a healthy baby
also declined during the three months after delivery, which calls for continued education and support
for mothers in the promotion of breastfeeding.