The evaluation of knowledge and activities of primary health care professionals in promoting breast-feeding

Giedra Levinienė, Aušra Petrauskienė, Eglė Tamulevičienė¹, Jolanta Kudzytė¹, Liutauras Labanauskas¹

Laboratory for Social Pediatrics, Institute for Biomedical Research, ¹Department of Children’s Diseases, Kaunas University of Medicine, Lithuania

Key words: breast-feeding; breast milk; breast-feeding promotion; primary health care.

Summary. The objective of this study was to evaluate the knowledge and activities of Kaunas primary health care center professionals in promoting breast-feeding.

Material and methods. A total of 84 general practitioners and 52 nurses participated in the survey, which was carried out in Kaunas primary health care centers in 2006. Data were gathered from the anonymous questionnaire.

Results. Less than half of general practitioners (45.1%) and 65% of nurses were convinced that baby must be exclusively breast-fed until the age of 6 months, but only 21.6% of general practitioners and 27.5% of nurses knew that breast-feeding with complementary feeding should be continued until the age of 2 years and longer. Still 15.7% of general practitioners and 25% of nurses recommended pacifiers; 7.8% of general practitioners advised to breast-feed according to hours. Half of the health professionals recommended additional drinks between meals; one-third of them – to give complementary food for the babies before the age of 6 months. One-third (29.6%) of the health professionals surveyed recommended mothers to feed their babies more frequently in case the amount of breast milk decreased.

Conclusions. The survey showed that knowledge of medical personnel in primary health care centers about the advantages of breast-feeding, prophylaxis of hypogalactia, and duration of breast-feeding was still insufficient.

Correspondence to G. Levinienė, Laboratory for Social Pediatrics, Institute for Biomedicical Research, Kaunas University of Medicine, Eivenių 2-515, 50009 Kaunas, Lithuania. E-mail: giedralev@gmail.com

Received 20 January 2009, accepted 6 March 2009