The Influence of Knowledge and Health Beliefs about Gestational Diabetes on Breastfeeding Intention of Women with Gestational Diabetes

ABSTRACT

Purpose@#The purpose of this study was to assess the knowledge and health beliefs about gestational diabetes and to identify the influence on breastfeeding intention of women those who have been diagnosed with gestational diabetes. @*Methods@#A cross-sectional descriptive study was designed. A questionnaire survey was conducted on 270 women who were pregnant and currently diagnosed with gestational diabetes. Data collection was conducted at Internet cafes and breastfeeding clinics where pregnant women were able to participate actively. The data collection period was from November 5 to November 27, 2019 and analyzed using descriptive statistics, independent t-test, x 2 test and multiple logistic regression. @*Results@#The average age of the participants was 34.21±3.73 years. There were 221 women who had breastfeeding intention, and 49 women who did not intend to breastfeed. The higher the perceived susceptibility (OR=2.49, p=.032), benefits (OR=2.62 p=.009), and the self-efficacy, the higher the intention to perform breastfeeding (OR=2.97, p=.004). On the other hand, the higher the perceived severity, the lower the intention to perform breastfeeding (OR=0.35, p=.007). Conclusion: Health beliefs such as perceived susceptibility, perceived benefits, self-efficacy and perceived severity have been shown to affect the breastfeeding intention. Based on these results, we suggest developing a breastfeeding promotion intervention program that improves self-efficacy in gestational diabetics.