Puerto Rican health teachers: attitudes towards breastfeeding

RESUMO

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the study was to identify attitudes towards breastfeeding and support for breastfeeding in public in a group of health teachers in the Department of Education. METHOD: The study design was correlational descriptive. A self-administered questionnaire was used (Cronbach's alpha = 0.83) for 125 health teachers. Descriptive and inferential statistics (chi square and t test) were used for data analysis. RESULTS: 89.6 were women, 47.1 had 39 years of age or less, 76.4 were married, the median of years in the profession was 12.5. Only 8.8 had breastfed exclusively, 46.1 used artificial feedings exclusively, and 45.1 combined artificial milk and breast milk. A moderate/negative attitude towards breastfeeding was shown by 53.1. 60.3 stated they agreed or totally agreed that in order to breastfeed the mother must follow a specific diet, 36.0 agreed or totally agreed that breast milk should alternate with artificial milk, and 100 of participants do not support breastfeeding in public. No significant difference was found in the attitude scale towards breastfeeding and the gender, the age, years in the profession, and the type of milk given their children. CONCLUSIONS: We must train teachers in the Department of Education, on a priority basis, in the field of human lactation in view of their importance for health promotion.