Abstract:

Background: This research was carried out to determine the body image and perceived stress levels of mothers who have 0-6 months old babies during the breastfeeding process. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted with 406 mothers with 0-6 month old babies who came to the pediatric outpatient clinic for examination. Data were collected with a questionnaire consisting of a questionnaire, Perceived Stress Scale and Body Perception Scale. In the evaluation of the data; percentage, means, Independent Samples T-test, One-way ANOVA test, and correlation analysis were used. Results: A statistically significant difference was found between the age groups, educational status, job status, income status, number of children, family type, Body Mass Index classification, and the mean scores of the Perceived Stress Scale of the mothers participating in the study (p<0.05). A statistically significant difference was found between age groups, educational status, job status, income status, number of children, family type, Body Mass Index classification and any diet application status and Body Perception Scale mean scores (p<0.05). It was determined that the duration of exclusive breastfeeding was positively weakly correlated with Body image (r=0.26) and weakly negatively correlated with Perceived Stress (r=0.27) (p<0.05). Conclusion: It was determined that as the perceived stress level of mothers increased, body image and the duration of feeding their babies with only breast milk decreased.

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