Weaning practices of mothers in eastern Turkey; [Práticas maternas de desmame no leste da Turquia]

Objective: The study aimed to determine the practices used by breastfeeding mothers to wean their children from the breast. Method: This qualitative–quantitative research was conducted with mothers whose children were registered the pediatric clinics of a state hospital between June and September 2016. In accordance with a purposeful sampling method, 232 mothers of children between the ages of 2 and 5 years were included in the study. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews using a questionnaire with demographic characteristics of mothers as well as their weaning practices. The data obtained were analyzed with a computer-assisted program using number and percentage distributions. Results: The mean breastfeeding duration was 19.00 ± 7.11 months. It was determined that the majority of mothers (56.5%) used traditional methods for weaning their children. These included applying substances with a bad taste (58.1%) to their breasts, covering their breasts with various materials (26.2%) to make the child not want to nurse anymore, and using a pacifier or feeding bottle (9.2%) to substitute for the mother's breast. Conclusions: It was observed that more than half of the mothers were used some traditional practices that could cause trauma in their children, instead of natural weaning.