Breastfeeding and their knowledge by nursing students

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the knowledge of nursing students about breastfeeding. Methods: Cross-sectional, qualitative and quantitative approach developed at a private university in an inner city in São Paulo State. Data collection was performed using a questionnaire comprising 15 questions about breastfeeding, distributed in three parts. Questions about breastfeeding management, legal aspects of breastfeeding protection and breastfeeding benefits were included. Data were analyzed using the simple descriptive and variance analysis was performed for comparisons. Results: Nursing students in the eighth semester achieved an overall performance of 81.2% in the correct answers, a value statistically superior to one of the classes in the seventh period, but similar to the other. Conclusion: Despite the good knowledge about the advantages of breastfeeding, knowledge was shown to be lower than expected with regard to the physiological process of breastfeeding.