The relationship between breastfeeding attitudes and perceived stress levels of Turkish mothers

Abstract

Aims In the present study, it was aimed to investigate the relationships between breastfeeding attitude and perceived stress levels of Turkish mothers. Methods In this descriptive study, the Personal Information Form prepared by the researchers, Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and Iowa Infant Feeding Attitude Scale (IIFAS) were used to collect the study data. The present study included 788 mothers having 0-6 month-old infants. The data obtained were with the independent t-test, one-way ANOVA and Pearson correlation analyses. Findings The mean scores of the participants obtained from the PSS and IIFAS were 25.60 +/- 7.3 and 61 +/- 6.6, respectively. At the end of the correlation analysis, it was observed that breastfeeding attitude decreased as the perceived stress level increased in mothers. Conclusions The results of the research indicated that as the perceived stress levels of mothers in the postpartum period increased, their breastfeeding attitudes decreased. It is suggested that nurses should support women by providing education and counselling during pregnancy and postpartum period.