THE EFFECT OF INDIVIDUAL BREASTFEEDING TRAINING ON BREASTFEEDING BEHAVIORS AND TRADITIONAL PRACTICES: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL

Aim: This study aims to determine the effect of individual breastfeeding training on breastfeeding behaviors and traditional practices.Materials and Methods: The research was of randomized controlled design. The study was conducted at the family health centers in Kütahya, Turkey. A total of 304 mothers were recruited into the study, 152 in the intervention group and 152 in the control group. The Chi-Square Test, Mann-Whitney U Test and Kruskal-Wallis Test and Multinomial logistic regression were performed.Results: After the training, the rates of the mothers whose breastfeeding duration and frequency were sufficient, who breastfed their babies in the correct position, who did not have any breastfeeding problems, and whose babies latched onto the breast correctly were significantly higher in the training group than were the rates of the mothers in the control group (p<0.05).Conclusion: The individual breastfeeding training had an implication in improving breastfeeding behaviors and reduced harmful traditional practices.