Growing attachment between mother and child through breastfeeding

A child builds their self-esteem and trust in the world around them based on the attachment they develop to their mother. There are different factors which affect the quality of this attachment. One of the factors, besides the mother's sensitivity, traits, family relations and the child's absence from home, which affects the quality of the child's attachment to the mother is breastfeeding. In the empirical part of the thesis, we have examined through interviews with three mothers the attitude of mothers to breastfeeding before and after giving birth, their experience of breastfeeding and their role in other persons' perception of breastfeeding, the process of weaning the baby from the breast and the effects of this on the mother-child relation. We have found that all mothers approve of breastfeeding. They believe that breastfeeding influences the quality of the emotional bond between the mother and child. They also see breastfeeding as a special bond, an intimacy created just between them and the baby. The mothers did not change their opinion on breastfeeding after giving birth and had not prepared themselves for it, as they had perceived it as something that comes naturally. The mothers were faced with various problems they were not ready for during breastfeeding. The unexpected problems were the reason that one of the mothers was unable to breastfeed at all. In this situation, the mothers very much appreciated the support they received from the people close to them, especially their husbands. One of the mothers received a lot of support from her husband, while the other two were supported by their husbands to a lesser extent. All three said they had received virtually no support, encouragement or advice from the medical staff, which they would like to change in the future. Weaning their baby from their breast caused minor changes to their relation with the child. The two children who were breastfed needed their mothers a lot more in this period and wanted more hugging, caressing, carrying and talking before sleep