The effect of breastfeeding education given to parents in early postpartum period on breastfeeding status of infants in the first six months

The present study aims to investigate the effect of breastfeeding education given to parents in early postpartum period on breastfeeding status of infants in the first six months. The study was conducted quasi-experimentally in Aydin Maternity and Pediatric Hospital between the dates of April 2014 and February 2015. A total of 120 parents were included in the study; 60 in the education group and 60 in the control group. "Data Collection Form for Mothers", "Data Collection Form for Fathers" and "Breastfeeding Period Assessment Form", which was applied six months after the birth, were used for data collection. The parents in the education group were given education by the researcher on breastfeeding and breast milk prior to discharge, whereas the control group parents were left to usual care. Descriptive statistics and Chi-square test were used for data analysis. It was determined that parents in the education group and the control group had similar socio-demographic and obstetric characteristics and parents in both groups were on a similar level in terms of knowledge on breastfeeding and breast milk. It was found that 88.3% of the mothers in the education group and 86.7% of the mothers in the control group kept breastfeeding in the 7th month, 61.7% of the mothers in the education group and 60.0% of the mothers in the control group fed their infants exclusively with breast milk for the first six months and infants' average time of being fed exclusively with breast milk was 5.25±1.23 months in the education group and 5.13±1.30 months in the control group. There was no statistically significant difference between groups in terms of continuing breastfeeding in the 7th month, feeding their infants exclusively with breast milk for the first six months and average breastfeeding time (p>0.05). In conclusion, it was found that breastfeeding education given to parents in early postpartum period had no effect on breastfeeding status of infants in the first six months. It can be recommended that the scope of in-service training given to health care staff is reviewed, breastfeeding education is given to both mothers and fathers together, and the research is replicated in different institutions.