Evaluation of breastfeeding motivation of primiparous pregnant women

The desire of mothers to breastfeed their babies in the prenatal period depends on their breastfeeding motivation. Prenatal breastfeeding motivation of primiparous pregnant women is affected by many factors. In order for primiparous pregnant women to maintain breastfeeding more easily and successfully, it is necessary to determine the factors affecting breastfeeding motivation in the prenatal period. This study was conducted to determine breastfeeding motivation of primiparous pregnant women and the factors affecting it. The cross-sectional correlational research was conducted between 15 October 2022 and 15 May 2023 with face-to-face interview technique. The research was conducted in Pazar district of Rize province. Data were collected from 143 primiparous pregnant women who met the inclusion criteria by using "Personal Information Form" and "Breastfeeding Motivation Scale in Primiparous Pregnant Women". The data were analysed with SPSS for Windows 22 package programme and statistical significance level was accepted as p< 0.05. According to the findings of the study, it was determined that mothers' age, employment status, economic status, duration of thinking about feeding their baby with breast milk after birth, person to receive postnatal support, person to receive breastfeeding counselling training and perception of competence in breastfeeding affected breastfeeding motivation. It is recommended that motivational interviews with primiparous mothers starting from the prenatal period, including extensive and multidimensional information and practices about breastfeeding, should be conducted to strengthen their perception of competence. It is recommended that the education and awareness of nurses, who play the most important role in this issue, should be increased, and studies of similar design should be repeated in larger samples. Keywords: Breasfeeding motivation, primiparous pregnant, nursing.