Awareness of Female Students In Medical Field About Breastfeeding And its Benefits

Abstract

Breastfeeding is a fundamental human behavior that plays a crucial role in promoting well-being of both newborns and mothers. The recognition of advantages associated with breastfeeding has the potential to serve as a motivating factor for women in their decision to breastfeed. The objective was to measure level of knowledge and awareness among female medical students on significance, benefits, and unique circumstances associated with breastfeeding. Descriptive cross-sectional research was undertaken to examine a cohort of 100 female students, ranging in age from 18 to 24 years, at AL-Kindy College of Medicine in Baghdad, Iraq. The data were gathered using an online survey and analyzed with SPSS 24.

Results showed that 97% of the students knew that breastfeeding is important and advantageous. However, 48% of students thought that both natural and artificial breastfeeding are the best for baby. 53% of students thought that child should continue breastfeeding up to 2 years. 69% of students thought that mothers who had an infectious disease should stop breastfeeding, and 54% agreed to stop breastfeeding if the baby had a respiratory or diarrheal infection. Most of the students did not know how to deal with breastfeeding if mother's nipple was cracked. Finally, about 52% of the students did not know if breastfeeding should start immediately or not after cesarean section.

In conclusion, female participants in this research demonstrated an understanding of significance and benefits of breastfeeding. However, it was observed that they had some gaps in their foundational knowledge on breastfeeding and its associated challenges.