Explaining Mother's Experiences from Breastfeeding Education

The aims of this study were describing mothers’ experiences from breastfeeding education and identifying the problems related to breastfeeding in order to submit a suggestion to policymakers who work in field of mother and child health promotion.
This descriptive qualitative study was conducted in Tehran, Iran, from May 2012 to June 2015. Participants were 9 women undergoing cesarean and one breastfeeding teacher who were selected purposefully. The method of data collection was an in-depth semi-structured interview. Obtained data were analyzed through conventional content analysis.
The codes derived from analysis of interviews were labeled in four categories: amount and conditions of breastfeeding education before and after childbirth, content and method of breastfeeding education before and after childbirth, barriers to effectiveness of education before and after childbirth, and suggestion about the most appropriate time and method for breastfeeding education.
Most of the mothers do not have suitable conditions to learn how to breastfeed after baby delivery. Thus, the best time for initiation of breastfeeding education is during pregnancy, especially in the last weeks and days. After baby delivery and during the postpartum period, breastfeeding education has to be continued. Group-based breastfeeding education decreases the quality of education while the most appropriate way for breastfeeding education is individual education on mother’s bedside.