On the Relationship between Social Support and Early Breastfeeding Termination

There is no substitute to mother breastfeeding; on the one hand, mothers need all-out support, especially in the first days after delivery, which is one of the effective factors for women’s success in breastfeeding.

The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between social support and early termination of breastfeeding.

This retrospective study examined the degree of social support for mothers embarking on early termination of breastfeeding. It covered a group of 235 individuals (150 individuals in the control group and 85 in the experimental group) as its participants. The data were collected through three separate questionnaires: The Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support Questionnaire, the demographic questionnaire and the researcher-made questionnaire of evaluation of breastfeeding. The T-test, Mann-Whitney, chi-square and logistic regression tests were used for analysis by SPSS 16.

The results revealed that compared to mothers in the experimental group, unwanted pregnancies (p=0.001) and caesarian section deliveries (p=0.007) were significantly more observed in the control group mothers. Those characterized by termination of breastfeeding received (about 22 times) weaker social support compared to the breastfeeding mothers (p<0.001, OR~22). Furthermore, the first breastfeeding upon birth was less (about 0.211 times) observed among the experimental group mothers than the group of mothers characterized by breastfeeding (p=0.006, OR~0.211).

Husband encouragement and support and high social support are highly effective in successful breastfeeding and in this line, all-out support for mother, including support by family and society, seem very necessary.