Aim of the study:
Women’s decisions to quit breastfeeding are strongly influenced by feelings such as physical or psychological fatigue. The purpose of this study was to find out whether the autonomy of a breastfeeding mother’s motivation has an effect on her breastfeeding self-efficacy. Furthermore, the study examined the relationship between breastfeeding self-efficacy and such indicators of wellbeing as the frequency of experiencing positive and negative emotions, life satisfaction, and the occurrence of somatic symptoms.

Subject or material and methods:
The sample consisted of 93 breastfeeding mothers ages 21 to 42. The survey was conducted online. The participants answered a questionnaire measuring their level of autonomous motivation to breastfeed, their breastfeeding self-efficacy, the level of experienced somatic stress,the frequency of experiencing positive and negative emotions and life satisfaction.

Results:
The results of the study confirmed that the more autonomous the mother’s motivation to breastfeed her baby, the higher her breastfeeding self-efficacy. Self-efficacy turned out to be a significant predictor of the frequency of experiencing positive emotions, negative emotions, and somatic stress symptoms. No relationship was found between the mothers’ self-efficacy and their reported life satisfaction.

Discussion:
Autonomous motivation in breastfeeding mothers has a positive effect on their breastfeeding self-efficacy. The higher level of breastfeeding self-efficacy, the more positive are breastfeeding mothers’ subjective experiences.

Conclusions:
Shaping autonomous motivation in breastfeeding women has a positive effect on their breastfeeding self-efficacy High breastfeeding self-efficacy, which has a positive effect on the mother’s wellbeing, may also contribute to longer duration of breastfeeding.