Women's knowledge levels and attitudes about breast milk and breastfeeding

Breast milk is a natural and miraculous food source that is most suitable for the healthy growth and development of the newborn in terms of bioavailability, is easy to digest, and is miraculous. WHO recommends that breastfeeding should be started as soon as possible after birth, and that breastfeeding should be continued for 2 years after being fed only with breast milk in the first 6 months of life. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the knowledge levels and attitudes of mothers and mother candidates who applied to the family medicine outpatient clinic about breast milk and breastfeeding. The participants of our study were mothers or candidate mothers who applied to Tekirdag Namık Kemal University Hospital Family Medicine Polyclinic between June and December 2021 (n=264). Our study is a descriptive cross-sectional study. The data were collected by a questionnaire prepared by us as a result of literature research. In the analysis of the data, in addition to frequency and percentage analyzes with the SPSS 24.0 program, "Mann-Whitney U" and "Kruskal-Wallis H" tests were used. In our study, the knowledge level of breast milk and breastfeeding was found to be 71.61 out of 100 on average. The level of knowledge of those with higher education was found to be significantly higher than those with lower education, and the level of knowledge of working women was significantly higher than those of housewives (p<0.05). The knowledge level of the spouses with a high education level was found to be significantly higher than those of the spouses with a low education level, and the knowledge levels of those with a family income of 6000 TL were found to be significantly higher than those with a family income of <3000 TL and 3000-6000 TL (p<0.05). In our study, 24.2% of the participants breastfed their babies for 0-6 months, 21.6% for 6-12 months, 43.6% for 12-24 months and 10.6% for longer than 24 months. It was determined that those who breastfed for 0-6 months were predominantly at high education level, and those who breastfed for 6-12 and >12 months were predominantly at low education level (p<0.05). In our study, the rate of those who received breast milk and breastfeeding counseling from family medicine units was 67.4%. Except for health professionals, 29.9% of the participants use social media, internet and television programs as information sources about breast milk and breastfeeding; 40.2% from books, magazines and brochures; 56.8% of them benefited from the experienced people around them. As a result; Breast milk and breastfeeding training should be given face-to-face and practically by health professionals, in a way that appeals to all individuals regardless of socioeconomic level, and by making use of technological opportunities as much as possible. In this regard, the activities of primary care family health centers should be increased and it should be aimed to reach all mothers and mothers candidates.