Abstract:

Taking medication during the breastfeeding is of great concern to mothers. Drug recommendations to nursing mothers are usually given by health care workers. The purpose of this study is to reveal the opinion of mothers and health care providers who are in the process of breastfeeding or have experienced it on taking medication during breastfeeding. In this study, a phenomenological approach was used in qualitative research methods. The Research Setting: the maternity hospital, pediatric service, nurses, and midwives working in the neonatal intensive care unit, pediatricians, obstetricians and gynecologists, pharmacists working in the hospital, and mothers applying to the polyclinic in a state hospital located in the northern region of Turkey. In-depth data was collected through interviews. Thematic analysis was carried out by transferring the Qualitative Data Analysis Software (NVivo 12) package used in qualitative research to the program. It has been determined that mothers are sensitive towards the use of drugs during breastfeeding. Those who are forced to take medication during breastfeeding can be met with a negative attitude from their families, spouses, and the immediate environment. Health professionals don’t possess enough information about drugs during breastfeeding in general. It has been determined that doctors have closed this gap by using sources to gain knowledge about drugs during breastfeeding, meanwhile the rest were content with simply stating their lack of knowledge.

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