Investigating the Relationship between the Opinions of Mothers with Infants in Intensive Care Unit on Human Milk Banking and their Religious Attitudes

Abstract

The aim of this study is to determine the relationship between the opinions of mothers with newborns in intensive care unit on human milk banking and their religious attitudes. Designed in a descriptive and cross-sectional type (June-November 2015). The study was conducted on 200 mothers who agreed to participate in the study. The data were collected using the Religious Attitude Scale and an information form. It was determined that the mothers' 4% gave another mother's milk to their babies, and that 95% did not give their own milk to other babies. It was found that 32% of the mothers stated they would not be willing to donate milk if a milk bank opened, while 69% of this proportion did not favor the donation due to religious milk kinship. No statistically significant relation was found between parents' education, employment status, family type, number of children and scale scores (p>.05). It was concluded that the religious orientations of the mothers influenced their attitudes towards human milk banks, and that did not have a positive perspective on human milk banking. When the test results were examined, it was found that the only variable that was a significant predictor on the religious attitude was "obtaining milk from the bank when needed".

Donor Breast Milk Banking: Knowledge and Attitudes of Iranian Mothers

“…The results of the present study show that only 12.8% of participants had heard about the human milk bank. The results of similar studies in Turkey reveal the growing awareness of mothers about human milk banks and milk donation; for example, mothers’ awareness was reported at 9.4% by Gurol et al (2014), 28.4% by Yılmaz et al, (2018) and 95% by Alparslan and Bozkurt (2021). In China, 17% of mothers were aware of human milk banks (Tu et al, 2022).…”

“…In 2021, a study was conducted in Turkey to assess the attitudes of mothers of admitted neonates in neonatal intensive care units regarding human milk banks and their relationship with religious attitudes. The findings revealed that the religious attitudes of the mothers negatively affected their attitude toward human milk banks (Alparslan & Bozkurt, 2021). Despite mounting evidence on the advantages of human milk donation and human milk banks, ethical issues, cultural beliefs, unawareness, attitudes, family concerns on the safety of the donated milk remain controversial.…”