The Meaning of Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy in Working Mothers - A Qualitative Study

Abstract

Background: The benefits of exclusive breast feeding is well documented. However, in Indonesia, breast feeding rates fall well below global recommendations. The aim of this research was to explore the meaning of breastfeeding self-efficacy from working mothers' perspective. Method: a qualitative method was used that is the nature of the phenomenology. Setting: the study was conducted in an outpatient's department in a hospital in Surabaya, Indonesia. Participants: the respondents were eight mothers working outside the home for 40 hours per week, attending lactation classes, Indonesian, with children aged seven months to two years, and babies born healthy. Results: there were five main themes identified in the women's stories, relating to self-efficacy and breastfeeding: 1) the source of breastfeeding self-efficacy; 2) the confidence to breastfeed her infant; 3) the motivation to breastfeed; 4) perception of workplace control; and 5) the impact of breastfeeding self-efficacy on breastfeeding behavior. Conclusion: The participants who decided to breastfeed for at least two years tended to think positively about breastfeeding. The women had realistic expectations of the commitment that breastfeeding entailed, even though they were faced with many workplace obstacles.