Effect of Perception and Anxiety of Breastfeeding Mothers on the Success of Exclusive Breastfeeding

Abstract

The success of exclusive breastfeeding remains a major issue in the working area of Panekan Health Center, driven by psychosocial factors such as mothers' inaccurate perceptions and anxiety. Exclusive breastfeeding coverage has fluctuated significantly, rising from 22.8% (2023) to 98.8% (2024), then declining again to 47.9% (2025). This study aimed to analyze the influence of perception and anxiety among breastfeeding mothers on the success of exclusive breastfeeding. A quantitative study with a cross-sectional design was conducted on 152 breastfeeding mothers with infants aged 6–11 months, selected using proportional simple random sampling from 17 villages. The perception was measured using a 24-item Health Belief Model (HBM) Likert-scale questionnaire, anxiety was measured using the 14-item Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HARS), and the success of exclusive breastfeeding was measured using a structured ordinal questionnaire. Data were analyzed using an logistic regression test. Most respondents were of healthy reproductive age (86.2%), had a secondary education (62.5%), were unemployed (83.6%), and had one child (51.3%). The majority of mothers had a good level of perception (61.8%) and mild anxiety (38.8%), and 75% of respondents successfully exclusively breastfed for 6 months. The ordinal logistic regression test showed that perception had a significant effect on the success of exclusive breastfeeding (p less than 0.001), while anxiety had no significant effect (p more than 0.05). Breastfeeding mothers' perception was the dominant factor influencing the success of exclusive breastfeeding. Efforts to improve positive perceptions through lactation counseling and ongoing health education are urgently needed to increase exclusive breastfeeding coverage. In conclusion, mothers’ perception plays a crucial and statistically significant role in determining the success of exclusive breastfeeding, whereas anxiety does not demonstrate a meaningful influence.  

Keywords: perception; anxiety; exclusive breastfeeding; Health Belief Model