School girls' perception and knowledge about breastfeeding

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Abstract

Objective: to compare two groups of school age girls from different social strata were compared in terms of their perception and knowledge about breastfeeding. Methods: a structured questionnaire was applied to all 346 4th to 8th grade girls attending two schools, a private one, whose students belonged to the upper class (School A), and a public one, whose students belonged to the lower class (School B). Results: about 90% of the girls reported having been breastfed and more than 98% had seen a mother breastfeeding. Only 14% of girls from School A and 26% from School B (p=0.01) exclusively offered their breast or their breast and a bottle when playing with dolls. More than 80% of the girls stated that they would like to have a normal delivery and to breast-feed their child for more than 6 months, but 46% of the girls from School A and 32% from School B stated that they would be ashamed to breastfeed in public. About 90% of the girls considered human milk to be the best food for the baby, but only a small portion of them recognized other more specific advantages. Less than 1/3 would choose exclusive breastfeeding and about 60% would offer a pacifier to the baby. Conclusions: girls from both social strata are aware of the fact that breastfeeding is the best diet for a newborn baby, but are not aware of its specific advantages. Exclusive breastfeeding is not incorporated into the knowledge of most of these girls, since most of them consider-offering water, tea, juices and a pacifier to be adequate practices. Teaching about breastfeeding at school should emphasize these concepts.

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Nakamura, S. S., Veiga, K. F., Ferrarese, S. R. B., & Martinez, F. E. (2003). School girls’ perception and knowledge about breastfeeding. Jornal de Pediatria, 79(2), 181–188. https://doi.org/10.1590/s0021-75572003000200014

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