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Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the level of knowledge and the attitudes of mothers in relation to the finalization of breastfeeding practice.
Method: This descriptive and cross-sectional study was carried out from April 14, 2015, to June 15, 2015, in eight family health centers located in a province of Middle Anatoliain Turkey. The study population included mothers having breastfeeding experience with a child aged from 0 to 36 months. A total of 313 voluntary mothers who had visited the family health centers participated in this study. Written permission for conducting the study was obtained from the ethics committee of Bozok University, after which approval from the study institution and verbal consent from the mothers were obtained.
Results: The mean duration of mothers breastfeeding their babies was 15.52±8.6 months, and 22.1% of them had terminated breastfeeding within the first 6 months. Regarding the reason for the termination of breastfeeding, 14.1% of the mothers stated having a hot/bad smell on their chest or closed their nipples. A total of 65.5% of the mothers who were in the process of termination of breastfeeding stated that they did not receive support from their family elders.
Conclusion: The majority ofmothers in this study stated that they had initiated breastfeeding, and had applied various methods for increasing the amount of breast milk, but their level of knowledge regarding the finalization of breastfeeding practice was inadequate. Thus, sufficient information and training by health professionals to breastfeeding mothers based on the present study results are needed, and further studies on these related issues could contribute to the literatüre.