The Relationship of Breastfeeding Self Efficacy with Quality of Life, Self Esteem and General Health of Mothers referring to Health Centers in Flavarjan, 2015.

Abstract

Abstract: Introduction: Considering the positive effects of breastfeeding on neonates and breastfeeding mothers, the effective role of breastfeeding self-efficacy in selection of mother’s milk and continuation of exclusive breastfeeding, and the possible relationship of quality of life and self-esteem and general health with breastfeeding self-efficacy, it was decided to conduct a study to examine the relationship of breastfeeding self-efficacy with quality of life, self-esteem and general health. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out on 547 eligible breastfeeding mothers, who visited the health centers of Falavarjan County and who had 2- to 6-month-old neonates. Participants were selected randomly, and personal-social information questionnaires, World Health Organization’s Quality of Life (WHOQOL) questionnaire, Deniss Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale (BSES), Rosenberg Self Esteem Scale (RSES), and the 28-item general health questionnaire (GHQ-28) were completed through interviews. Multivariate linear regression analysis was used to examine the relationship of quality of life, self-esteem and personal-social information general health with breastfeeding self-efficacy. Finding: The means (standard deviations) of breastfeeding self-efficacy score and quality of life score were 134.5 (13.3) and 67.7 (13.7), respectively. The mean score of self-esteem was 5.89 (4.0) from the allowable -10 to +10 score range, and the mean score of general health was 19.7 (9.13) from the allowable 0-84 score range. Quality of life Self-esteem, general health and all of its dimensions showed a significant direct relationship with breastfeeding self-efficacy. Discussion and Conclusion: Research results indicated that with an increase in quality of life,self-esteem and general health, breastfeeding self-efficacy escalates significantly. Moreover, it is seemingly possible to improve breastfeeding mothers’ self-efficacy by holding training courses on methods of increasing maternal quality of life, self-esteem and general health and by improving these two variables.