Breastfeeding Experiences of Midwife Mothers and Barriers to Their Breastfeeding

Abstract

Introduction: Midwives are at the forefront of the breastfeeding success of mothers, but the breastfeeding experiences of midwives who are mothers are unknown. Aim: This study was planned to determine the breastfeeding experiences of midwife mothers and the barriers to their breastfeeding. Materials and Methods: The study used a cross-sectional and descriptive design. A total of 177 midwives who had breastfeeding experience were included in the study. Results: The mean age of the midwife mothers was 39.71 ± 7.17 years and 53.1% had 2 children. The first breastfeeding time was 152.76 ± 471.97 minutes, the duration of breastfeeding was 14.88 ± 9.87 months, the duration of exclusive breastfeeding was 4.43 ± 1.65 months, and the duration of maternity leave was 6.16 ± 6.30 months. It was determined that 38.4% gave pre-lacteal feeding. It was found that some of the participants could not breastfeed because 34.5% of them did not have enough milk, 28.2% took short maternity leave, 26.6% had a busy work schedule, 24.9% had long working hours, 22.6% did not have a suitable place to express milk, 18.6% did not have enough time, and 10.7% were concerned about COVID-19 transmission. A statistically significant correlation was found between exclusive breastfeeding in the first 6 months and breastfeeding up to the age of 2 and pre-lacteal feeding, time of going back to work after maternity leave, psychological status, and sleep status (p