en Midwifery Orginal research <span style="line-height:2;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="color:#2980b9;"><b><i><span new="" roman="" times="">Background:</span></i></b> </span><span new="" roman="" times="">Breastfeeding self-efficacy is an important factor in initiating and continuing breastfeeding. </span></span><br> <span style="unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="color:#2980b9;"><b><i><span new="" roman="" times="">Objectives:</span></i></b></span><b> </b><span new="" roman="" times="">The present study aimed to compare breastfeeding self-efficacy between exclusive and non-exclusive breastfeeding in postpartum women.</span></span><br> <span new="" roman="" times=""><span style="color:#2980b9;"><b><i>Methods:</i></b></span><span style="color:black"> This descriptive comparative study was conducted on 228 women hospitalized in the Social Security Hospital of Zahedan who had given birth 24 hours earlier. Sampling was performed using a convenience method from March to June 2024. Data were collected using a demographic-midwifery questionnaire and the Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale-Short Form (BSES-SF). Data analysis was carried out using SPSS version 22 software, employing the Mann-Whitney U and Chi-square tests.</span></span><br> <span style="unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="color:#2980b9;"><b><i><span new="" roman="" times="">Results:</span></i></b></span><span new="" roman="" times=""> The mean (SD) age of the women was 28.14 (6.7) years. Most participants were housewives (92.54%) and had a diploma or lower level of education (80.26%). The mean (SD) score of breastfeeding self-efficacy was higher in women with exclusive feeding than in those with non-exclusive feeding </span><span lang="EN"><span new="" roman="" times="">[49.11 (11) vs 36.9 (11.7)].</span></span> <span new="" roman="" times="">There was a statistically significant difference between the exclusive and non-exclusive feeding groups regarding breastfeeding self-efficacy (p=0.000), type of delivery (p=0.034), infant&rsquo;s gender (p=0.000), and the number of breastfeeding per day (p=0.036).</span></span><br> <span style="unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="color:#2980b9;"><b><i><span new="" roman="" times="">Conclusion:</span></i></b></span><i> </i><span new="" roman="" times="">Women who gave birth while exclusively breastfeeding had higher breastfeeding self-efficacy than those who breastfed non-exclusively. To enhance breastfeeding self-efficacy, it is recommended to develop appropriate strategies for initiating and continuing breastfeeding.</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="tab-stops:40.5pt 191.4pt 292.5pt"><span style="text-autospace:none"><span style="unicode-bidi:embed"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:9.0pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> Breastfeeding, Self-Efficacy, Exclusive Breastfeeding 67 72 http://nmcjournal.zums.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-986-1&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Parvaneh Sarparastrazmju p.sarparastrazmju@iauzah.ac.ir 100319475328460013794 100319475328460013794 Yes Department of Midwifery, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Zahedan Islamic Azad University, Zahedan, Iran