Breastfeeding frequency of primary healthcare professionals and effective factors.

BACKGROUND: To determine the frequency of breastfeeding of mothers working in primary care, the differences between different employment groups, and the effective factors. METHODS: This descriptive research study was conducted with a self-report online survey design. The snowball sampling method was used for the sample selection, and 151 family physicians and 126 family health professionals were included in the study during the research period (June 2019-December 2019). A 35-item survey was used to collect data. The response rate was 44.9% (49.5% family physicians/40.3% family health professionals). RESULTS: The mean duration of exclusive breastfeeding was 3.9 ± 2.0 months, and the mean duration of total breastfeeding was 16.7 ± 8.5 months. There was no significant difference between the family physicians and family health professionals in terms of exclusive breastfeeding (P = .580) and total breastfeeding (P = .325) durations. The most common reasons for weaning were reduced milk supply (25.6%) and not being able to use breastfeeding leave (23.1%) due to problems at work. Of the sample, 41.3% had problems with their coworkers and 41.9% had problems related to patient care when taking breastfeeding leave. Working in a baby-friendly centre (P = .01), prolonged exclusive breastfeeding (P < .001), and increased hours of breastfeeding leave taken (P = .001) had a positive effect on breastfeeding for ≥24 months while experiencing problems with coworkers in taking breastfeeding leave (P = .023) had a negative effect on this variable. CONCLUSIONS: All of the factors that were determined to affect the continuation of breastfeeding for ≥24 months are modifiable. It is very important for relevant authorities to undertake necessary action to improve the conditions of working mothers based on these results. Health professional that can maintain the balance between family and work will work more efficiently.

The impact of circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin and oral cholecalciferol treatment on menstrual pain in dysmenorrheic patients.

This study aims to determine Vitamin-D level in patients with primary dysmenorrhea and investigate the effect of Vitamin-D replacement on symptoms. About 100 patients in the 18-30 age group followed-up with primary dysmenorrhea diagnosis were included in this observational study. The pain severity was assessed using the visual analog scale (VAS). 25-hydroxy vitamin D(25(OH)D) levels of the patients were measured and the replacement therapy was applied according to measurement results. The patients were followed for three months in total. At the end of the three-month period, the 25(OH)D level was measured and the VAS score was assessed once more after the therapy. 25(OH)D level was insufficient in 23.0%, deficient in 45.0%, and severely deficient in 32.0% of the patients. It was found that the VAS score increased as the 25(OH)D level decreased (r = -0.320; p = .002). A significant reduction was observed in VAS scores after Vitamin-D treatment in all three groups; the amount of reduction in VAS score was determined to be higher in the patients with severely deficient levels of 25(OH)D, compared to the patients with deficient or insufficient levels (p < .001). A significant and negative correlation was found between Vitamin-D and symptoms associated with dysmenorrhea in our study. The Vitamin-D replacement therapy led to a significant decrease in symptoms.