Factors Associated With Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Among Beijing New Mothers

Breastfeeding is the most cost-effective, health-promoting, and disease-preventing activity new mothers can perform. Researchers have found evidence that the breastfeeding self-efficacy is an important variable that significantly influences brastfeeding initiation and duration rate.Objective: The purposes of this study were (1) to describe the status about breastfeeding self-efficacy antenatally and at 1st week and 6th weeks postpartum in a sample of new mothers; (2) to develop a multi-factorial predictive model of breastfeeding self-efficacy in the first week postpartum; (3) to explore if the participants' breastfeeding self-efficacy at 1st week postpartum can predict the infant-feeding method in postnatal period.Methods: A descriptive design was used. By convenient sampling, 195 women in the last trimester of pregnancy were recruited from a large maternity hospital in Beijing, who completed mailed questionnaires at 1st week and 6th weeks postpartum. The Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale was used to measured participants' breastfeeding self-efficacy. The demographic questionnaire, Social Support Rating Scale, Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, self-developed breastfeeding knowledge questionnaire, Labour Agentry Scale were used to collect information about the factors that could affect breastfeeding self-efficacy in the first week postpartum.Results: (1) The average of new mothers' breastfeeding self-efficacy score antenatally, at 1st week and 6th weeks postpartum were 107.79±17.94,111.68±20.94,108.03±23.35 respectively(Total scores for BSES range from 30 to 150). (2) The best-fit regression model revealed three variables that explained 40.9% of the variance in Breastfeeding Self- Efficacy Scale (BSES) scores at 1-week postpartum: perceived husband's attitude toward breastfeeding, postnatal depress and social support. (3) By 1st week postpartum, 67.1 percent were breastfeeding exclusively; and the percentage decreased to 47.7 percent by 6th weeks postpartum. (4) Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale scores in the first week were significantly related to breastfeeding outcomes at 6th weeks postpartum.Conclusions: (1) The level of new mothers' breastfeeding self-efficacy at 1st week postpartum was 111.68±20.94(30～150). (2) There are many factors that affect breastfeeding self-efficacy. It implicated that nurses should take specific nursing interventions to enhance new mothers' breastfeeding self-efficacy. (3) The exclusive breastfeeding rate postpartum in Beijing was low, and compared to the breastfeeding goal strongly advocated by WHO, there was a wide gap. (4) Maternal breastfeeding self-efficacy assessed early in the postnatal period is a significant predictor of breastfeeding level at 6th weeks postpartum. New mothers with higher breastfeeding self-efficacy were significantly more likely to be breastfeeding, and doing so exclusively at 6th weeks postpartum.