Comparison of Breastfeeding Self-efficacy in Mothers With Different Ages

Introduction: breastfeeding is one of the most important health-promoting behaviors and one of the main goals of the world health organization. breastfeeding self-efficacy is an important variable in predicting the duration of breastfeeding and its continuation. breastfeeding self-efficacy is a modifiable parameter that is affected by various individual and social factors. objective: this study aimed to compare breastfeeding self-efficacy levels of mothers with different ages referred to comprehensive health centers. materials and methods: this is a correlational study with a cross-sectional design. study samples were 460 breastfeeding mothers of different ages referred to comprehensive health centers in rasht city, iran in 2019. the data collection tool was a two-part questionnaire: a demographic form and a breastfeeding self-efficacy scale-short form (bses-sf). data analysis was performed using the independent t-test, analysis of variance (anova), and regression. results: the mean±sd scores of breastfeeding self-efficacy were as follows: 43.69±12.48 in mothers under 19 years old, 50.26±10.93 years in mothers aged 19-35 years, and 58.35±8.53 years in mothers over 35 years old. there were statistically significant relationships between breastfeeding self-efficacy and maternal age (p=0.0001), housing status (p=0.0001), monthly income (p=0.0001), breastfeeding history (p=0.0001) and source of breastfeeding education (p=0.014), number of pregnancies (p=0.0001) and number of deliveries (p=0.0001). the variables of maternal age (β=4.130, p=0.0001, 95%ci; 2.165-6.051), monthly income (β=1.735, p=0.002, 95% ci; 1.239-3.922), breastfeeding history (β=5.505, p=0.0001, 95%ci; 4.598-9.183) and number of pregnancies (β=3.553, p=0.0001, 95%ci; 1.278-4.098) were predictors of breastfeeding self-efficacy. conclusion: breastfeeding self-efficacy increases with the older age and its level is lower in mothers aged < 19 years than in other age groups. counseling support for mothers at this age is more necessary, and the need-based educational program should be designed for them.