KANGURU BAKIMININ PREMATÜRE BEBEK ANNELERİNİN EMZİRME ÖZYETERLİLİK DÜZEYİ VE EMZİRME BAŞARISINA ETKİSİ

Aim: The study was conducted to examine the effect of kangaroo care on breastfeeding self-efficiency and breastfeeding success of mothers of premature infants. Methods: The study was conducted in an experimental design non-randomized, control group, pre-test-post-test. The study group consisted of 60 mothers (30 experimental / intervention, 30 control) who had premature infants hospitalized in the neonatal intensive care unit of two hospitals between June 2017 and January 2018. Questionnaire Form, Kangaroo Care Follow-up Form, LATCH Breastfeeding Diagnostic Measurement Tool, and Breastfeeding Self-Efficiency Scale were used to collect data. The data were analyzed on the computer by independent groups t-test, Mann Whitney U test, Pearson chi-square test, forward analysis Bonferroni test. Results: When breastfeeding self-efficiency scores were examined, breastfeeding self-efficiency scores of the mothers in the intervention (mean=54.40±8.11) and control group (mean = 52.73±7.12) in the pre-test were not statistically different (p>.05), and in the post-test, the intervention group scores (mean=63.40±6.90) were found to be significantly higher than the control group (mean=57.23±6.95) (p .05) has been determined. Conclusion: In this study, it was concluded that kangaroo care increased the breastfeeding self-efficiency level of mothers of premature infants whose infants were hospitalized in the neonatal intensive care unit. It was recommended that kangaroo care be applied to premature infants and their mothers in hospitals.