Objective: Health literacy (HL) encompasses the ability of individuals to access, understand, and use health information. In the postpartum period, mothers’ HL and Breastfeeding self-efficacy (BSE) levels are critical for both maternal and infant health. In this study, it was aimed to evaluate the levels of HL and BSE of mothers with 0-2-week postpartum infants, to analyze differences according to socio-demographic characteristics, and to examine the relationship between HL and BSE.Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted with 202 mothers with 0-2-week infants between March and April 2024. The data were collected by face-to-face interviews using a socio-demographic information form, HL, and BSE scales and analyzed with the SPSS 25 package program.Results: The participants’ HL level (87.02±19.69; 25-125 point range) and BSE level (51.12±12.74; 14-70 point range) were found to be moderate. Demographic factors such as educational level, social security, family type, and number of children had significant effects on both scales. In addition, a positive correlation was found between HL and BSE.Conclusion: The study findings indicate a statistically significant and positive relationship between mothers' health literacy and breastfeeding self-efficacy. In this context, it is thought that interventions aimed at improving mothers’ health literacy may support breastfeeding self-efficacy. It is recommended that midwives and nurses working in primary health care services implement practical breastfeeding counselling programmes, supported by visual materials, for mothers with low health literacy and no social security.
Çifçi et al. (Fri,) studied this question.