τhe research of midwives’ opinion regarding promotion of breastfeeding in our country

Aim: The study aimed to explore midwives’ opinions regarding factors that affect the promotion of breastfeeding. MATERIAL-Method: There were studied 87 Greek midwives from 15 maternity hospitals in our country (private and public) from January to October 2001. Simple random sampling was used for the recruitment of the inhabitants. Data collection was based on a specifically designed questionnaire. The data were analyzed on the basis of the SPSS system. Results: Almost three quarters (73.6%) of midwives claimed that puerperae were not informed about maternal breastfeeding. This was mainly due to insufficient medical observation of women during pregnancy by a specialist doctor or midwife (21%) and also due to the indifference of women (18.5%). According to midwives (40.3%), pregnancy was considered the most appropriate period for providing information on this issue, while for the more experienced (20–30 years) the best periods for midwives were adolescence and entering to adulthood. The appropriate people for providing information were considered, mainly, midwives (28.4%), obstetricians (20.4%) and paediatricians (18.1%). The main problems faced by midwives in their effort to promote breastfeeding were easy disappointment and weariness of the puerpera (10.3%), smoking (9.9%), and insufficient information (9.7%). From the total number of midwives, a percentage of 29.9% did not know whether there was a Maternal Milk Bank in their hospital, while only 30.6% were trained. Midwives who were graduates from the school of “Elena Venizelos” Maternity Hospital and the Technological Educational Institutes (TEI) appeared to be more trained and informed about the operation of the Maternal Milk Bank than the rest. Conclusions: As it is shown in our study, the main problems faced by midwives in their effort to promote breastfeeding are easy disappointment and weariness of the puerpera, smoking, and insufficient information.

Category: Volume 45, N 2
Hits: 760 Hits
Created Date: 15-06-2006
Authors: Evangelia Antoniou , Maria Daglas , Victoria Vivilaki , Hara Tzachrista , Ekaterini Lykeridoy-Avramioti