Traditional practices related to breast milk and breastfeeding of mothers with babies of 6-18 months

OBJECTIVE: This research was made in order to determine the traditional practices related to breast milk and breastfeeding of mothers with babies of 6 to 18 months. METHODS : Mothers, who are registered to the Family Health Center in Ezine district in Canakkale from September 2012 to February 2013 constituted the research’s system, those mothers having babies from 6 to 18 months. 212 mothers that accepted to attend to the study were obtained to research’s sample. The research’s dates were gathered by the researchers with the survey form that was done face to face. Descriptive statistics, Chi-square, frequency and average were used in data analysis. RESULTS: The mean age of mothers was 28.47±4.71, 82.5% were housewives, 51.4% were literate/primary school graduates, 75.5% had middle income and 53.8% live in town. 85.4% of mothers think breast milk is enough for the first six months. Food which mothers think increases breast milk are 58% milk desserts, 42% onion/garlic, 16.6% wheat, 16.5% dried grape, 11.3% cowpea. Drinks that are thought to increase breast milk are %57.5 herbal teas, %50.5 water, %38.2 milk. Traditional practices to increase breast milk are 29.7% frequent lactating, 23.1% affixing an annulet, 23.1% drinking liquids a lot. The average lactating period of mothers is 12.61 ± 4.31 month, 13.2% of mothers separate their babies from the breasts. When mothers’ separation methods from breast are examined, giving additional food by baby bottle (25.3%), putting of with water and fruit juice (14%), spreading tomato paste on the breasts(10%), putting hair (10%), spreading black color (8.7%), sending the baby to another house (%8.7) such traditional practices are observed. CONCLUSION: This study showed that mothers for increasing breast milk and separating their babies from the breast mothers’ applying for traditional practices. Thus, it would be important that nurses and midwifes should evaluate these practices and should keep the individual and cultural characteristics of mothers during their educations in mind.