Breast-Feeding Behaviours of the Mothers

Abstract: Breast-feeding is the most useful nutrient due to the facts that its contents change according to the requirements of the newly-born, it protects them against the infections and it meets all the physiological and psychological needs of the baby in the fist six months and it is economical. In the following months, the infants getting breastmilk could be supported by additional nutrients so that they can make a healthy start in life being far away from the malnutrition and infection risks. This study was conducted at the local hospitals of Aksehir, Konya, with an aim to determine the breast-feeding behaviors of the volunteered 345 mothers who had 0-24-month-old babies. The ratio of the mothers who had breastfed their babies in wake of the birth was found to be 50.1%, while the ratio of the ones who did that in the first two hours was 35.9%. It was also found that 14.0 % of the mothers hadn’t breastfed their babies in the first three or more hours. Another finding in the study was that 89.0 % of the mothers had given colostrums, while 7.2 % of them hadn’t. The other 3.8 % said that they didn’t remember if they had done that or not. The relationship between giving colostrums and the education level was found to be significant (p<0.05). It was also found that 79.7 % of the mothers had chosen breast-feeding as the first nutrient to their babies in wake of the birth. The frequency of breast-feeding was found to vary as follows: 45.8 % of the mothers breastfed when their babies needed, 40.3 % of them did that when their babies cried and the other 13.0 % did breast-feeding according to a scheduled timetable. The rati