Mothers' views of milk banking: sample of Izmir

Aim: The studies on human milk banking in Turkey, has being carried out at a hospital in Izmir province. However, there are some disagreements about milk banking. The aim of the study is to determine the knowledge and the views of the mothers towards milk banking. Material and Methods: This study is a cross-sectional survey. The study was carried out with 404 mothers who gave birth in a two maternity hospitals and one university hospital in Izmir using the face-to-face interview technique between March 2014 and June 2014. The study data were collected using a 30-item socio-demographic questionnaire. Results: The mothers' mean age was 28.4 years (min:16 max:46). Of the mothers, 45.5% were primary school graduates, 80.2% were members of a nuclear family, 75.7% had less than three children, 63.4% gave birth by caesarean section and only 79.5 percent were able to breastfeed before being discharged. Of the mothers, 41.6% were aware of milk banking, 71.3% were willing to receive milk bank services and 68.8% were willing to donate breastmilk. 62.2% of those who did not want to make donation stated risk of contagion as a reason. 8.2% of the participants had worked as wet-nurse before. Conclusions: Most mothers revealed positive approaches and opinions about establishment of milk banking and milk donation. However, there were some concerns due to the risk of infectious diseases and religious beliefs. Efforts should be made to raise awareness and mothers should be informed about the importance of breast milk and breastfeeding so that milk banks can be regarded as an additional choice.