Early postpartum breast-feeding outcomes and breast-feeding self-efficacy in Turkish mothers undergoing vaginal birth or cesarean birth with different types of anesthesia.

Purpose: To compare the breast-feeding outcomes and breast-feeding self-efficacy, in the first 24 postpartum hours, of mothers who underwent vaginal birth, cesarean birth with epidural anesthesia, and cesarean birth with general anesthesia.

Methods: A comparative study was conducted in Turkey. A total of 334 mothers participated. Data were evaluated through descriptive data form, breast-feeding outcomes form, and the Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale.

Findings: It was observed that the mothers who had cesarean birth with general anesthesia experienced more breast-feeding problems. With regard to breast-feeding self-efficacy, all the groups were similar.

Conclusion: For reducing breast-feeding problems, nurses should provide more care and support to mothers undergoing cesarean birth. Therefore, the fact that the breast-feeding self-efficacy was similar among the groups might be related to culture.