Nurses' knowledge and attitudes towards breastfeeding
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.48492/servir0215.41907Keywords:
Breastfeeding, Knowledge, Attitudes and Practice in Health, NursesAbstract
Introduction: Breastfeeding is essential for child health, development, and survival, with well-documented benefits (Meek & Noble, 2022). The nurse is one of the main promoters of breastfeeding, as long as there are adequate conditions, knowledge and attitudes (Souza, Nespoli & Zeitoune, 2016).
Objective: To describe the knowledge and attitudes of ULSNE nurses towards breastfeeding and relate them to sociodemographic, professional, and obstetric variables.
Methods: This is an observational, cross-sectional, and analytical study involving 127 nurses from a hospital unit in northern Portugal. Data were collected between June and October 2024 using sociodemographic questionnaires and two validated scales: ECEAM (Lopes, 2013) and EAAPSAM (Marinho, 2003). Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS (v.29.0), with a 5% significance level. The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of ULSNE No. 30/2024.
Results: The study sample consisted of 127 nurses, mostly female (89.76%), with a mean age of 44.52 years.
Regarding knowledge, the overall results of the ECEAM indicate a level considered "good" (3.77±0.48). The factor with the best performance was "Breastfeeding Properties" (4.27±0.45), while the factor "Technical Procedures" registered the lowest score (3.22±0.54), suggesting gaps in terms of the practical operationalization of breastfeeding care.
Regarding attitudes, the EAAPSAM revealed a positive attitude on the part of the nurses, with a total mean score of 191.82 (±21.79). The dimension with the highest score was "Beliefs about the benefits of breastfeeding" (4.69±0.46), highlighting the value placed on breastfeeding. However, the dimension “Attitude towards the decision not to breastfeed” (3.93±0.83) showed the lowest mean values, which could reflect a lower predisposition to deal with mothers who choose not to breastfeed. Nurses with children, specific training, and who feel prepared to support breastfeeding showed higher levels of knowledge and more favorable attitudes.
Conclusion: Specific training, professional and personal experience positively influence knowledge and attitudes.
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