Background: The success of breastfeeding requires strong willingness, support for breastfeeding mothers and breastfeeding self-efficacy (BSE). This study aims to describe the need for social support for breastfeeding, sources and forms of support provided to primiparous mothers, and analyze the influence of social support on BSE. Methods: The study was conducted in Yogyakarta City among 113 breastfeeding mothers using consecutive sampling. There were 24 informants consisting of breastfeeding mothers (21 persons), nutrition officers of PHCs (1 person), lactation counselors (1 person), and midwives (2 persons). This was a mixed methods study: the qualitative study used a phenomenological approach to specifically identify social support, and the quantitative study used an analytic survey method with a cross-sectional approach. Results: A total of 113 breastfeeding mothers participated in the study, with a mean age of 27.8 years. Most were primiparous (56.6%), had primary–middle level education (50.4%), came from low-income households (56.6%), and were employed (54%). The majority of mothers' knowledge was good. There was a significant relationship between the variables of age, mother's education level, and husband support with self-efficacy scores. The most influential factor was the husband's support (p 0.016), with an effective contribution of 12.5% to BSE. Conclusions: Sources of breastfeeding social support come from husbands, parents, peers, health professionals, and cadres. The variable that strongly influences BSE is husband’s support. It is necessary to have an exclusive breastfeeding promotion program designed from pregnancy to delivery by involving mothers and husbands so as to increase support for breastfeeding mothers.
Maryani et al. (Thu,) studied this question.