ENERATIONAL DIFFERENCES IN ATTITUDES TOWARDS BREASTFEEDING AND FERTILITY IN SPLIT-DALMATIA COUNTY

Cilj istraživanja: Glavni cilj istraživanja bio je ispitati generacijske razlike u stavovima o dojenju i fertilitetu na području Splitsko-dalmatinske županije između rodilja i njihovih majki te povezanosti među stavovima. Ispitanici i metode: Istraživanje je provedeno u Domu zdravlja Splitsko-dalmatinske županije, a uključivalo je rodilje i njihove majke pod patronažnom skrbi u periodu od travnja do lipnja 2021. godine čija su djeca na porodu pripadala prvoj skupini novorođenčadi mjerenoj testom Apgar. Ispitivanje se provodilo anonimnim upitnikom sastavljenim od dva dijela. U prvom dijelu upitnika ispitali su se stavovi o fertilitetu, a u drugom dijelu stavovi o dojenju. Rezultati: U provedenom istraživanju najveći dio rodilja smatra kako je optimalan broj djece dvoje, njih 48%, dok njihove majke smatraju da je optimalan broj djece troje, 43% anketiranih. Čak 43% rodilja navelo je kako je uzrok manjeg broja djece u odnosu na prethodne generacije ekonomska kriza. Većina rodilja, njih 62,75%, navela je otežane radne uvjete uz dijete, što je očito pod utjecajem (ne)stabilnosti primanja. Njihove su majke pak kao glavni razlog za život bez djeteta navele probleme vezane uz trudnoću, porod i skrb o djetetu, njih 62,75%. Sam stav o dojenju približno je generacijski jednak i za rodilje i za njihove majke. Kao glavne prednosti dojenja istaknuti su povezanost majke i djeteta, idealna hrana za dijete te to što je dojenje ekonomski pogodnije od prehrane zamjenskim mlijekom. U provedenom istraživanju utvrđeno je kako rodilje s pozitivnim stavom prema dojenju percipiraju veći optimalan broj djece za obitelji u Hrvatskoj. Zaključci: Fertilitet je uvjetovan društveno-ekonomski čimbenicima. Očekivati je, prema dobivenim rezultatima, kako bi i eventualna promjena društveno-ekonomske klime pridonijela želji za većim brojem djece. Ispitane rodilje i njihove majke upoznate su s pozitivnim aspektima i dobrobiti dojenja. Ipak, iz istraživanja je vidljivo kako suvremeni način života kojim žive rodilje utječe prije svega na odluku o dojenju, ali i na duljinu dojenja.Aim of the research: Main aim of the research was to examine generational differences in attitudes towards breastfeeding and fertility in Split-Dalmatia County between postpartum women and their mothers, and the correlations between the attitudes. Examinees and methods: Research was conducted in Public health centre of Split-Dalmatia County. It involved postpartum women who were under community care from April to June 2021, and their mothers. Babies born in this period were the first group of newborns who were measured by Apgar Test. Research was conducted by an anonymous questionnaire which had two parts: the questions of the first part of the questionnaire were related to the attitudes towards fertility, while the questions of the second part of the questionnaire were related to the attitudes towards breast-feeding. Results: The research has shown that 48% of postpartum women believe that the optimal number of children to have is two. However, their mothers (43% of them) believe the optimal number of children for a single family would be three. Furthermore, 43% of postpartum women claim that the smaller number of children women have today (in comparison to the older generations) is caused by the economic crisis. Most postpartum women (62.75% of them) see the main cause in bad working conditions for new mothers. Most of their mothers (62.75% of them), however, believe that the main reasons why women decide to stay childless are related to possible issues that might occur during pregnancy, childbirth and first couple of months after the birth. There are almost no differences between the two groups regarding the attitude towards breastfeeding – both postpartum women and their mothers say main advantages are a bond that is created between a mother and a child; they also claim that mother's milk is an ideal food for a newborn, and that breatfeeding is economically most suitable for new mothers. The conducted research has shown that postpartum women who have positive attitude towards breastfeeding believe the optimal number of children in a family in Croatia should be higher than two. Conclusions: Fertility is conditioned by social and economical factors. According to the obtained results, one can expect that the eventual positive change of social and political climate would result in stronger desire of women to have higher number of children. Postpartum women and their mothers who were part of this research are familiar with positive aspects of breastfeeding. However, the research has shown that the contemporary way of life has a strong influence on postpartum women's decisions regarding breastfeeding