Breastfeeding During Pregnancy: Opinions and Behaviors of Mothers

Objective: This study was performed to determine opinions and behaviors of mothers about maintenance of breastfeeding during pregnancy. Methods: The research was descriptive and the data were collected between March 2019 and December 2019. Data were collected by using a questionnaire at face-to-face interviews. A total of 358 mothers just giving birth at an obstetrics hospital in İstanbul and fulfilling the inclusion criteria were included in the study. Obtained data were analyzed with descriptive statistics and chi-square test. Results: Of all the mothers included in the study, 74.6% reported that women becoming pregnant during lactation should not breastfeed their babies. Thirty-two percent of the mothers with a history of multiparity had the experience of becoming pregnant during lactation and 49% of them reported that they immediately stopped breastfeeding and the rest maintained breastfeeding their babies for a short time. Twenty-one-point-four percent of the mothers said that they weaned their previous baby because they were pregnant, wanted to get pregnant again, or thought they were pregnant. Conclusion: The mothers believed that women becoming pregnant during lactation should not continue to breastfeed their babies. Besides, the mothers having the experience of pregnancy during lactation were found to stop breastfeeding immediately or short time after they learned about their pregnancy.