The role of the media in the promotion of breastfeeding

Abstract

Introduction. Breastfeeding is the optimal method of nourishing newborns and infants, as provided in guidelines and recommendations issued by both maternal and child health organizations and associations. For this reason, breastfeeding should be promoted and supported through educating the population. Various media outlets (television, radio, the Internet, press) have become an integral part of people’s daily life and an important source of information on health.Aim. The present study aimed at determining the role of the mass media in the promotion of breastfeeding.Material and methods. The study was conducted between January and April 2015 on 262 women. The study used a diagnostic survey with questionnaires. The researchers used a self-designed questionnaire. The software used for databases and statistical analysis was STATISTICA 9.1 (StatSoft, Poland).Results. A statistical analysis has shown that married women (p=0.00168), women with higher education (p=0.04007), women who had their own businesses (p=0.04482) and those who had given birth to one child (p=0.00093) stated that information on breastfeeding was available in the media. The women surveyed pointed to the media (56.13%) as the source of information on breastfeeding, while the Internet (82.07%) was the most popular medium used by the respondents to look for information on breastfeeding. The participants believed that the media should focus on promoting the benefits of breastfeeding for the child (94.27%).Conclusions. The media are the most popular source of information on breastfeeding. The media should promote breastfeeding mainly through providing information on the benefits for the child. The Internet is the most popular medium to look for information on breastfeeding.