Determination of mothers' thoughts and adaptation behaviors regarding the infant: A descriptive study

Abstract

Background: With motherhood, women focus on their new baby. They begin to develop new adaptation behaviors to provide the best care for the infant. The study aims to describe the adaptive behaviors and concerned thoughts of first-time and repeat mothers. Methods: The study was designed in descriptive and cross-sectional type. Data were collected from mothers using a questionnaire and “The scale of being the mother of a baby.” The study was completed with 112 mothers who were reached by snowball sampling method and agreed to participate. The data were analyzed at the 95% confidence interval at the p˂.05 significance level. Results: 66.1% of the mothers had a baby for the first time, and 73.2% of the mothers received information/education about baby care. It was determined that they wanted to receive information on topics such as maternal and infant nutrition, diseases, and immunization. A statistically significant difference was found between the age of pacifier use (p = .032). It was determined that mothers got 130.7 points in total from the scale, 88.3 points from the evaluation of motherhood sub-dimension, and 42.3 points from the life change sub-dimension. A statistically significant difference was found between the baby care knowledge/training status and the scale scores. Conclusion: The importance and continuity of education during and after pregnancy has emerged. Nurses are competent people with a key role in this regard, and it is recommended to use individualized care protocols for the training provided.

Keywords

• adaptation
• behaviors
• bonding
• mother-infant attachment
• newborn