RESUMO
Guatemala has the fourth highest infant mortality rate in Latin America, which makes the support and protection of breastfeeding especially critical. Traditional health-promoting practices like breastfeeding may be protected by increasing knowledge of its benefits. Yet there is a dearth of research documenting breastfeeding knowledge (i.e., knowledge of its benefits for infant health and development) in communities where breastfeeding is already practiced. OBJECTIVE: Our aim was to assess degree of breastfeeding knowledge among Mayan mothers in the rural highlands of North-Western Guatemala and compare knowledge of breastfeeding - a practice promoted by local health centers - and other traditional yet non-promoted infant care practices. METHOD: We conducted a survey of maternal-infant health knowledge and behavior among mothers in rural Guatemala (N = 300) from six communities with a non-governmental organization (NGO) health program and one comparison community. RESULTS: Overall, mothers displayed more knowledge of the benefits of breastfeeding in comparison with other traditional infant care practices not promoted by a community health program. Mothers in communities with a health program demonstrated increased knowledge of breastfeeding, regardless of whether they personally participated in the program. This health knowledge predicted participation in novel health-promoting behaviors (family planning, prenatal care, exclusive breastfeeding). CONCLUSIONS: Understanding breastfeeding knowledge as a proxy for community health exposure may increase the efficacy and diffusion of community health messaging.
