Internal factors affecting the mother’s psychological capital in exclusive breastfeeding during the COVID-19 pandemic

BACKGROUND: During the pandemic, in terms of breastfeeding, most mothers experience anxiety and discomfort. The impact of this condition will decrease the production of breast milk. The purpose of this study was to determine the internal factors that affect the psychological capital of mothers when breastfeeding during the COVID-19 pandemic in Petiken Village, Gresik. DESIGN AND METHODS: This study was an analytical study with a cross-sectional approach. The population of this study was all breastfeeding mothers who had babies aged 6–12 months. The sampling technique used was simple random sampling involving 102 respondents. The independent variables were motivation, perception, and attitude. The dependent variable was psychological capital. Data were collected from June to July 2021. The data analysis was conducted using the logistic regression test to determine the variable with a significance level of p < 0.05. RESULTS: The results of the multivariate analysis showed that the motivation variable was p = 0.036. Motivation had effect on psychological capital. While the perception variable was p = 0.056 (p > 0.05), the perception had no effect on psychological capital. The attitude variable p = 0.055 (p > 0.05), the attitude had no effect on psychological capital. The factor that affects the mother’s psychological capital in relation to exclusive breastfeeding during the COVID-19 pandemic was motivation. CONCLUSION: It is expected that mothers have a high motivation which can affect the mother’s psychological capital. It is needed to increase and succeed at providing exclusive breastfeeding.