Breastfeeding Belief and Attitudes of Physicians and Nurses

모유수유에 관한 의사, 간호사의 신념 및 태도조사

The purpose of this study was to investigate belief and attitudes on breastfeeding of physicians and nurses. A questionnaire was mailed to obstetricians, pediatricians and nurses at the department of pediatrics or obstetrics of university hospital and private hospital in Seoul and Choong-Chung Province) in South Korea. Total numbers of study subjects were 346 (pediatrician 67, obstetrician 41, nurse 238). The results were as follows : 1. The main reasons not to educate breast feeding in the hospitals were a lack of interest of the health professionals, a lack of educators and education programs. 2. The respondents thought that the best ways for lactating mother to get advices about breastfeeding during the first month were to give a call to health professionals in the hospitals where she had been delivered, or call to relatives or friends. 3. Breastfeeding attitudes of physicians and nurses did not differ according to gender, job, or type of the hospitals they work. 4. Breastfeeding attitudes were related with personal breastfeeding experience, breastfeeding knowledge, extracurricular education experience, encouragement experience. Physicians and nurses should give appropriate advices and support to lactating mothers to increase breastfeeding rate. They were, however, ill-prepared to counsel breastfeeding mothers. Therefore, it is necessary to instruct breastfeeding in the curriculum of the medical and nursing schools, and incorporate clinically based breastfeeding training into continuing education workshops. Improved breastfeeding education is a critical step in ensuring that health professionals are adequately prepared for this important role.