Womens’ attitudes towards breastfeeding in a province of greece

Background: Human milk is a live tissue containing many nutrients and immune substances. Even though a great effort is taken towards breastfeeding propagation worldwide, many women still choose not to breastfeed their babies. The aim of the present study was to investigate adult women’s attitudes towards breastfeeding in a Greek province. Breastfeeding history of the children of those who had already become mothers was also recorded. Methods: One hundred women, aged 18-45 yrs were administered a questionnaire regarding their attitudes towards breastfeeding and history of breastfeeding was recorded as well. Results: The majority of women expressed their desire to breastfeed their babies (78%). More than half mothers had breastfed their children for more than 3 months, while 15 % did so for 6- 9 months. Anatomic issues and hepatitis B carriage are considered as contraindication by 81 % of the women. All the participants were aware of breastfeeding advantages. Conclusions: Women are aware of breastfeeding advantages. However, mean duration of breastfeeding is lower than 6 months and heath issues are considered as main obstacles. The knowledge of true breastfeeding contraindications is limited.

Author(s): Deltsidou Anna

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