Relationships Between Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy, Confidence in Infant Care, and the Maternal Role: The Role of Excessive Postpartum Social Support in a Collectivist Cultural Context

Abstract

Objective: Conducted within a collectivist cultural context, this study examined the relationships between breastfeeding self-efficacy, confidence in infant care, maternal role attainment, and excessive postpartum social support during the early postpartum period. Methods: This cross-sectional, correlational study was conducted in Family Health Centers in Central Anatolia, Türkiye, between March and June 2025, and included 327 mothers. Results: Breastfeeding self-efficacy scores were higher among mothers who were employed ( p = .009), had a planned pregnancy ( p = .021), delivered vaginally (p = .026), initiated breastfeeding within the first 30 minutes (p = .026), and exclusively breastfed ( p = .001). Confidence in infant care was higher among employed mothers ( p = .037) and those exclusively breastfeeding ( p = .021). Maternal role attainment scores were higher among mothers with university education ( p = .018), without complications ( p = .047), exclusively breastfeeding ( p = .043), and receiving infant-care support ( p = .001). Excessive postpartum social support showed negative correlations with breastfeeding self-efficacy ( r = -.247; p < .001), confidence in infant care ( r = -.112; p < .05), and maternal role attainment ( r = -.266; p < .001). Conclusion: These findings indicate that mothers’ breastfeeding self-efficacy, confidence in infant care, and perceptions of the maternal role in the early postpartum period are influenced by both individual and environmental factors. On the other hand, perceived excessive postpartum social support showed negative associations with individual competence and maternal role perceptions. This suggests that excessive social support may limit mothers’ breastfeeding self-efficacy, confidence in infant care, and perceptions of the maternal role. In a collectivist cultural context, strengthening mothers’ individual competencies and providing balanced social support may contribute to more positive outcomes in breastfeeding and infant care processes.