Breastfeeding knowledge and attitudes of young people

Autor: A Komlenic, B Vukajlovic, D Dimovski, Marija Jevtic, J Gajic
Rok vydání: 2019
Předmět:
Zdroj: European Journal of Public Health. 29
ISSN: 1464-360X
1101-1262
Popis: Background One of the World Health Organizations (WHO) global nutrition goals by 2025 is to increase the rate of exclusive breastfeeding of infants under six months to at least 50%, which can be achieved only through educating future parents on the importance of breastfeeding. The goal of this research was to establish the current effects of the public health campaigns in raising awareness on breastfeeding by analyzing the opinions of young people towards maternal milk. Methods The study was conducted as a prospective study for six months in 2018. and in 2019. 281 people participated (158 female, 123 male) of whom 127 psychology students.The participants had no children, and were aged between 18 and 26.. The survey consisted of socio-demographic questions and the Iowa Infant Feeding Attitude Scale (IIFAS) with 17 questions. Data processing included methods of descriptive and inferential statistics using the MedCalc program. Values of p < 0,05 were considered statistically significant. Results More than one out of two female and almost two out of five male participants recognized milk as a diet optimal for their infant (53% female, 38% male). Over twice as many participants considered maternal milk to be extremely positive in comparison to baby formulas as positive. Only 12% of respondents acknowledged that infants had beneficial effects from breastfeeding throughout their lives. Since only 12.8% of infants in Serbia are exclusively breastfed (according to the available data), the public health authorities need to take more drastic measures in order to complete the WHO set goal by 2025. Key messages Current public health campaigns aren’t showing sufficient effects. Both sexes need to be included in education process about the importance of breastfeeding.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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