The effect of breastfeeding counselling the mothers in the early period after birth on infant’s exclusively breastfeeding

Abstract

Aim: In this study, it was intended to promote mothers to exclusively breastfeed their infants for the first six months by preventing the possible flourishing problems of breast and breastfeeding in the early period just after the birth with the help of counselling and support. Material and method: Giving priority to the ones with breastfeeding problems, counselling and support were given to 254 mothers out of 708 mothers who gave birth in the birth clinic during three months while they were in the hospital. Counselling and support given on the first three days postpartum were repeated when necessary until the problems of breast and breastfeeding were resolved. The infants were exclusively breastfed when they left the hospital. Excluding the mothers who gave multiple births and gave birth before the 34th gestation week, other mothers consulted were phoned in the office hours six months after the date of delivery. Information about the nutrition status of their infants was gathered from 101 mothers answering our phone calls by a questionnaire prepared. Data were evaluated in the computer by SPSS. Findings: Nearly 41.6% of mothers expressed that they exclusively breastfed their infants for the first six months. It was found that the mother’s age, pregnancy, birth and the number of children had no effect on the mother’s exclusively breastfeeding her infant for the first six months. While mothers who had diseases such as diabetes, hypertension in their pregnancies exclusively breastfed their infants for the first six months more than the mothers without any diseases, a statistically significant difference couldn’t be found between them. The ratio of feeding their infants only with the breast milk for the first six months of mothers who gave birth before the 37th gestation week was statistically more than that of the mothers who had full-term births. A statistically significant difference was found between mothers who gave only breast milk for the first six months and the ones who introduced complementary foods in the same period in terms of the proper time to start contraception. Result: Counselling mothers in the early period after birth, even for a short time, affects the ratio of exclusive breastfeeding and the contraception status. Nurses and midwives should consult all mothers giving birth about breastfeeding and feeding with breast milk before leaving the hospital.