Malahayati International Journal of Nursing and Health Science
Vol. 8 No. 4 (2025): Volume 8 Number 4

Fathers' involvement in their wives'/partners' breastfeeding: A qualitative study

Nur Intan Kusuma (Fakultas Ilmu Kesehatan, Universitas Muhammadiyah Pekajangan Pekalongan)
Eka Budiarto (Fakultas Ilmu Kesehatan, Universitas Muhammadiyah Pekajangan Pekalongan)
Rini Kristiyanti (Fakultas Ilmu Kesehatan, Universitas Muhammadiyah Pekajangan Pekalongan)
Milatun Khanifah (Fakultas Ilmu Kesehatan, Universitas Muhammadiyah Pekajangan Pekalongan)



Article Info

Publish Date
27 Jun 2025

Abstract

Background: Increasing the coverage of breastfeeding can improve survival and protect children from chronic diseases. However, the low coverage of exclusive breastfeeding is a problem caused by internal and external factors. One of the external factors is the lack of support from the husband. Purpose: To explore the involvement of husbands in the process of mothers providing exclusive breastfeeding to their babies. Method: Qualitative research with a generic qualitative approach. Participants in this study were breastfeeding mothers who had babies over six months old and had passed the period of exclusive breastfeeding. The number of breastfeeding mothers was 8 people with the principle of data saturation. The researcher was the main instrument in the study. Other instruments used were interview guidelines, field notes, and audio recorders. The interview results were analyzed thematically. Results: Frequency distribution data were obtained from unemployed mothers as many as 75% with the majority of high school education with an age range of 25-34 years. The results of the study showed that mothers' acceptance of husbands' involvement in the process of providing exclusive breastfeeding included emotional involvement and physical involvement. Conclusion: Mothers believe that husband's involvement is very important in the process of exclusive breastfeeding. The involvement received by mothers can be in the form of emotional involvement in the form of attention and informative advice and physical involvement as a form of practical support in the process of exclusive breastfeeding. Husbands who have sufficient information about exclusive breastfeeding and are aware of the importance of the health and development of babies will decide to be actively involved in the process of exclusive breastfeeding.

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Journal Info

Abbrev

minh

Publisher

Subject

Health Professions Nursing Public Health

Description

Malahayati International Journal of Nursing and Health Science is a peer-reviewed journal and provides a platform to publish areas of nursing and health science. The journal also seeks to advance the quality of research by publishing papers introducing or elaborating on new methods in nursing and ...