Opinions and behavior of mothers about maintenance ofbreastfeeding during pregnancy

Becoming pregnant during the lactation period plays an important role in weaning in Turkey and the rest of the world. This study aimed to determine opinions and behavior of women becoming pregnant in the lactation period about maintenance of breastfeeding. The sample included 358 mothers meeting the inclusion criteria. The study was conducted at a stateowned Maternity Hospital in Istanbul. Data were collected with a questionnaire and analyzed with descriptive statistics and Chi-square test. Of all the mothers, 74,6% thought women becoming pregnant during the lactation period should wean their babies, 82,6% believed breastfeeding during pregnancy definitely harms the mother, fetus or baby and 21,4% had weaned their baby before due to becoming pregnant, wanting to become pregnant or the possibility of becoming pregnant. Also, 32% of the multipara mothers became pregnant during the lactation period either currently or formerly and 51,1% of these mothers continued to breastfeed for some time after learning about their pregnancy. The mothers had negative opinions and behavior about maintenance of breastfeeding during pregnancy and believed they had to wean their babies during pregnancy due to their worries about effects of breastfeeding on the mother's, fetus' and infant's health. Health professionals should give education to the society and families, follow health status of the women becoming pregnant while lactating and their fetuses and infants and conduct further studies about this issue. Key Words: Mothers' health, Infants' health, Breastfeeding, Pregnancy and Tandem breastfeeding.