The Effect of Family Members on Breastfeeding Practices Among Turkish Mothers

Dear Editor:

In spite of the overwhelming evidence that the single most important nutrient for infants is breastmilk, children all over the world, and especially in developing countries, die within the first year of life because of illnesses related to insufficient and imbalanced nutrition. ¹ Most of these illnesses can be avoided with early and consistent breastfeeding. ² The World Health Organization recommends that every baby be fed exclusively on breastmilk for the first 6 months of life, and the UNICEF Innocenti Declaration states that children should continue to be breastfed while receiving appropriate and adequate complementary foods for up to 2 years of age or beyond. ³ The statistics founds indicate that in Turkey, like in many regions of the world, low rates of breastfeeding are a problem.^4,5 We would like to share the results of our survey.

There are many factors such as poverty, education, tradition, and physical limitations that can affect a woman's success with breastfeeding. Our self-administered survey was conducted to look at the factors most relevant to Turkish mothers. We surveyed 1,750 breastfeeding mothers, and 96.5% of them reported breastfeeding postpartum. Unfortunately, only 32.3% were able to practice exclusive breastfeeding for the first 3 months of life, and only 19% practiced exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months of life. In the first 3 months of life, 64.6% of mothers reported providing breastmilk and formula to their infants; this rate increased to 73.9% for the first 6 months of life. Among other questions, participating mothers were asked if family members had any influence on their breastfeeding practice in the first 6 months. Of the participating mothers, 63% reported that the influence of family members led them to give their babies formula and food in addition to breastmilk in the first 6 months. When the mothers were asked to elaborate on how their families had influenced their decisions, they commonly described their family members as being critical of their ability to care for the infant, particularly when the infant cried, and suggesting that the infant was dehydrated, underweight, or badly cared for in general.

In conclusion, although breastfeeding newborns is common in Turkey, the percentage of mothers who continue to breastfeed exclusively as recommended by the World Health Organization is falling. A major factor in a mother's breastfeeding practice is the influence of family members. To achieve the breastfeeding standards set out by the World Health Organization, mothers and their family members must be educated through antenatal breastfeeding education programs that teach the importance of maintaining successful breastfeeding practices, and the drawbacks of early supplementation. In addition, programs that encourage breastfeeding must be developed for working mothers. Most important is that breastfeeding mothers must be evaluated in terms of their social environment, so as to protect them from negative influences. Psychological support to mothers is crucial to ensuring the sustainability of breastfeeding and achieving breastfeeding goals.