Nichols, JeniSchutte, NicolaBrown, RhondaDennis, Cindy Lee EPrice, Ian2015-12-131090-1981http://hdl.handle.net/1885/79863Maternal self-efficacy for breast-feeding may contribute to success in breast-feeding. This study aimed to increase breast-feeding self-efficacy and actual breast-feeding through an intervention based on Bandura's self-efficacy theory. A total of 90 pregnant women participated in the study. The women who were assigned to a breast-feeding self-efficacy intervention showed significantly greater increases in breast-feeding self-efficacy than did the women in the control group. Furthermore, at 4 weeks postpartum, women in the intervention group showed a trend toward breast-feeding their infants longer and more exclusively than did those in the control group. Greater increases in breast-feeding self-efficacy were associated with a significantly higher level of breast-feeding. Replicating previous research, breast-feeding self-efficacy was significantly related to concurrent breast-feeding behavior, and high antenatal breast-feeding self-efficacy predicted a higher level of later breast-feeding in control-group women. These findings have implications for breast-feeding support programs and for the potential general utility of self-efficacy-based interventions in health education.Keywords: adult; article; breast feeding; female; health education; human; organization and management; pregnancy; prenatal care; psychological aspect; self concept; time; Adult; Breast Feeding; Female; Health Education; Humans; Pregnancy; Prenatal Care; Self Effic Breast-feeding; Intervention; Self-efficacy200910.1177/10901981073033622016-02-24