Explain the Experiences of Mothers with Breastfeeding Weaning in Referring to the Health Centers in Gorgan (Iran): A Qualitative Study

Weaning is a major cause of mothers` concern. The process of weaning is difficult, because of infant separation from mother who is always available and touches and hugs the child. Purpose of the study was to identify and describe criteria used by mothers of young children during weaning process.
Material & In this qualitative content analysis in 2014, using purposeful sampling method the women referred to the health care centers in Gorgan (Northern Iran), were invited to participate. The participants were thirty mothers of children under five years old, who had experiences of breastfeeding and natural weaning. Data were collected by individual semi-structured interviews and stopped when theoretical saturation occurred. The interviews were transcribed line by line, and coded and categorized according conventional qualitative content analysis.
Three main themes and eight sub-themes "appropriate time and decision, maternal styles for weaning, mental and physical burden" were emerged from data analysis and explained the experiences of mothers on weaning and the factors related to decision-making in the process.
The mothers were motivated for breastfeeding for enough periods. They considered receiving cues from infants for stopping it, then made decision and began weaning according advices of their relatives and traditions. Nursing education always emphasis on breast feeding but have less attention to weaning, so it needs to be considered in health planning.