Research Information System
Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Research, vol.51, no.4, 2025 (SCI-Expanded)
Background: Breast milk and breastfeeding affect the health of the child, the mother, and indirectly the public. Therefore, it is important to determine the breastfeeding self-efficacy of mothers, breastfeeding behaviors, and the factors affecting them, and to eliminate the factors that negatively affect breastfeeding. Aim: The study was conducted to examine the relationship between the perception of loneliness in mothers and breastfeeding self-efficacy and breastfeeding behaviors. Methods: This descriptive and correlational study was conducted in Turkey between March and November 2024 with 382 mothers (n = 382). The data were collected using the Descriptive Information Form, Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale (BSES), and Social and Emotional Loneliness Scale (SELSA-S). Results: The mean total score of the mothers in the study was 43.72 ± 11.13 and the mean total score of SELSA-S was 59.67 ± 13.25. In the study, it was found that those who were university graduates, were employed, received education about breastfeeding, were currently breastfeeding, as well as those who exclusively breastfed for the first 6 months, received spousal support while breastfeeding, had statistically significantly higher mean total scores on the BSES and lower mean total scores on the SELSA-S than the others. Additionally, receiving general social support and specifically from their spouses also contributed to these higher scores. In addition, a high-level negative linear relationship was found between the BSES and SELSA-S total and sub-dimensions (p < 0.001). Conclusions: It was concluded that the perception of social and emotional loneliness negatively affected breastfeeding self-efficacy and some breastfeeding behaviors in mothers with infants aged 0–24 months.