States of Mothers with 0-6 Month Olds to Receive Support from Their Husbands in Infant Care and Its Effect on Maternal Loneliness

Abstract

Objectives:The purpose of this descriptive study was to examine the states of mothers with 0-6 month old infants to receive support from their husbands in infant care and its effect on maternal loneliness.
Methods: The population of the study consisted of mothers who applied to the Family Community Centres no 2 and 3 in the city centre of Tunceli in Turkey. The study used no sampling method and included 128 mother. The data were collected by using the
questionnaire, which was generated by the researcher upon a literature review, and UCLA – LS (Loneliness Scale).
Results: 35.2% of mothers received no support from their husbands in removing the gas problem, 64.8% in changing diapers, 46.9% in bathing the infant, 43% in putting the infant to sleep, 50.8% in feeding the infant and 53.3% in waking in the night. I was observed that working mothers received a greater support from their husbands.. It was also observed that mothers receiving no support from their husbands in changing diapers, bathing the infant, putting the infant to sleep and feeding the infant had significantly higher levels of loneliness, compared to mothers receiving support from their husbands.
Conclusion: It was seen that nonworking mothers received a lower level of support from their husbands in infant care and had higher levels of loneliness.