Effect of Natural-Feeding Education on Successful Exclusive Breast-Feeding and Breast-Feeding Self-Efficacy of Low-Birth-Weight Infants

Objective: the ideal nourishment for newborns with low birth-weight is breast milk. the purpose of the study was to determine the effect of natural-feeding education given to mothers of low-birth-weight infants, on the mothers’ breast-feeding self-efficacy level, breast-feeding success, and the growth of the infants. methods: the study was conducted in a quasi-experimental way. the study group consisted of a total of 85 low-birth-weight infants and their mothers who had been treated in the neonatal clinics of two hospitals. the mothers included in the test group were given breast-feeding education for half an hour per day, during the first 5 days of their hospitalization. home visits were carried out at the homes of the participants from both the test and control groups, until the infants reached 6 months of age. for collecting data, the following forms were used: personal information form, breast-feeding self-efficacy form, latch breast-feeding assessment tool, and anthropometric measurements form. for analyzing the collected data, percentage, arithmetic mean, standard deviation, and chi-square we used, and, in independent groups, t-tests were employed. findings: it was determined that natural-feeding education given to the mothers increases their breast-feeding self-efficacy levels and success in breast-feeding (p<0.05). it was found that in the test group, the rate of feeding the infants exclusively with breast milk is higher in comparison with the control group (p<0.001). conclusion: results of the study indicate that natural-feeding education increases breast-feeding self-efficacy levels, breast-feeding success, and the breast-feeding duration.