Postnatal Education on Breastfeeding: Effect on Women’s Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy

Vollständiger Abstract

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Background: Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) is crucial for providing infants with optimal nutrition for their health, growth, and cognitive development. Maternal self-efficacy plays a significant role in determining the duration of breastfeeding. To promote breastfeeding initiation, duration, and exclusivity, it is important to understand breastfeeding self-efficacy and implement interventions to enhance it. Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of educational interventions on improving breastfeeding self-efficacy in postpartum women. Method: One-group pretest–posttest was used for this study. The sample consist of 115 postpartum mothers in the postnatal ward recruited from a private hospital Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The questionnaire composes of two parts: the socio-demographic section and the Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale-Short Form (BSES-SF). Data collection technique was conducted through an interview using a questionnaire. Data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23. Results: The study revealed a significant improvement in breastfeeding self-efficacy following the educational intervention (p value<0.001). Participants exhibited increased confidence in breastfeeding techniques and intrapersonal thoughts. All items on the BSES-SF showed statistically significant differences in mean scores between the pre- and post-intervention phases, highlighting the effectiveness of the intervention in enhancing breastfeeding self-efficacy. Conclusion: Postnatal interventional breastfeeding education was significantly associated with an improvement in maternal breastfeeding self-efficacy. Further, it is recommended to provide postpartum women with breastfeeding health education on regular basis to enhance their knowledge and practices regarding complying with breastfeeding.