Mothers' experiences of infant breastfeeding challenges: A qualitative study

The Ministry of Health, Treatment and Medical Education at Iran has stated that the promotion of breastfeeding is one of the important strategies for the growth and survival of children. This study was conducted with the aim of explaining mothers' experiences of infants breastfedding challenges in southeast Iran.

This qualitative study was conducted in Zahedan with the highest birth rate in the iran in 2023. Interviews were conducted with women who referred to health centers and had children under one-year-old and had stopped breastfeeding. participants were included in the study by purposeful sampling method. Sampling was done until data saturation. The content analysis method was used to analyze the data.

Data analysis led to the emergence of four main themes and 17 classes including: 1. Factors related to the mother (including classes of mother's illness, physical and hereditary characteristics, mother's malnutrition, use of medicine, lack of breastfeeding, superstitions and religious reasons), 2. Factors related to child (including child’s illness and the child’s unwillingness to consume breast milk), 3. Factors related to the family (including not having enough time, having two infants at the same time, a long interval between two pregnancies and the distance of the child from the mother) and 4. the characteristics of the infant formula (including infant's dependency on milk powder in intermittent use, giving more weight to the infant and not waking the infant at night).

The findings of the present study indicate more emphasis on the issue of education and giving more awareness to mothers. mothers' awareness about Breastfeeding could play an important role in continuing the exclusive feeding of the child.