Investigation of socio-demographic characteristics of mothers with babies in the newborn period, their thoughts about colostrum and colostrum feeding rates

Breast milk is the most important source of nutrients for the best nutrition, development and growth of the baby. At the same time, colostrum secreted in the first 1 week after birth is the first vaccine of the baby. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted to examine the socio-demographic characteristics of mothers with babies in the neonatal period, their thoughts about colostrum and their feeding status with colostrum. 94 mothers who applied to Bağcılar Hürriyet Family Health Centre and Bahçelievler Nazife Yaman Family Health Centre between 15.09.2023- 15.11.2023 were interviewed face-to-face and the Introductory Information Form (Appendix-1) and Information Form on Breastfeeding and Colostrum (Appendix-2) were used. The data of the study were recorded and analysed using SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) for Windows 26 software. According to the findings, 89.4% of the participants received information about breastfeeding/breast milk before birth and the source of information was individual effort (82.1%), health personnel (62.7%) and relatives (6%). It was determined that 75.5% of the participants received information about colostrum before birth and the source of information was mostly individual effort (81.7%), health personnel (63.4%) and relatives (5.6%). It was determined that 98.9% of the participants fed their babies with colostrum, while 1.1% did not; all of those who did not feed with colostrum fed with formula milk. 98.9% of the mothers commented that "colostrum should be given to the baby" and explained the reason for giving colostrum as "It meets the nutritional requirements of the baby" with 96.8%, "It protects the baby from infections" with 69.9%, "It contains growth factors" with 82.8%, "It stimulates bowel movements" with 48.4%, "There is no risk of allergy" with 74.2%, and "It is the richest milk in terms of content" with 63.4%. It was observed that 1.1% of the mothers who commented that "colostrum should not be given to the baby" explained the reason for not giving colostrum as "it is dirty milk", "it is the discharge from the breast" and "it harms the baby".