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Abstract

Objectives: To examine the association between prenatal breastfeeding self-efficacy among Saudi pregnant women and type of feeding at 4 weeks post partum, and also to examine the association of maternal socio-demographic variables with the breastfeeding self-efficacy levels of Saudi pregnant women. Methods: A cross-sectional design has been applied in the study by recruiting 101 pregnant women from the General Hospital, Umluj, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The prenatal breastfeeding self-efficacy scale was used to measure self-efficacy for breastfeeding during pregnancy. Descriptive statistics, Chi-square, Pearson correlation coefficient were used for statistical purposes. A p -value ≤0.05 was considered significant. Results: The average breastfeeding self-efficacy score was 70±11.9. No significant relationship was existed between breastfeeding self-efficacy and the maternal sociodemographic variables. A significant relationship was found between type of feeding at 4 weeks postpartum and prenatal breastfeeding self-efficacy (r=0.061, p <0.05). Women who exclusively breastfeed their babies had high scores on prenatal breastfeeding self-efficacy scale than those who mixed feed or bottle feed their infants. Conclusion: Levels of prenatal breastfeeding self-efficacy among Saudi pregnant women were high and can be predictive of breastfeeding exclusivity at 4 weeks postpartum. The prenatal breastfeeding self-efficacy could be used to measure whether the woman could organize and execute the causes of action needed to perform breastfeeding behavior.

Article Type

Research Article

First Page

1116

Last Page

1122

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