Breastfeeding knowledge among low-income first-time pregnant women

Disparities in breastfeeding initiation rates and breastfeeding duration have\ud been found among mothers of low-income status. The breastfeeding education a pregnant\ud women receives is positively correlated with breastfeeding outcomes however, there is\ud little known about the comprehensive breastfeeding knowledge of first-time low-income\ud pregnant women. The objective of this study was to expand on the information on firsttime\ud low-income pregnant women concerning their comprehensive breastfeeding\ud knowledge.\ud A quantitative descriptive research design was used to investigate\ud breastfeeding knowledge levels. Thirty first-time low-income pregnant women were\ud invited to participate in the study. A breastfeeding knowledge questionnaire (BKQ) was\ud designed to measure the participants??? knowledge on seven breastfeeding knowledge\ud domains. The lowest mean score (0.97 +/0.669) was found in the area that tested participants??? knowledge on breastfeeding problem-solving. The second-lowest group\ud mean score (1.133+/- 0.819) was found on the topic of time and frequency of\ud breastfeeding. The third- and fourth-lowest mean scores were on the topics of\ud breastfeeding benefits for the infant (1.333+/- 0.711) and breastfeeding benefits for the\ud mother (1.167+/- 0.791), respectively. Results revealed that a participant???s age was a\ud significant variable that affected scores on the topic of breast milk components (p =\ud 0.05). The total group mean score (N=30) was 64.48%. These findings indicate lowincome\ud first-time pregnant women would benefit from breastfeeding education that\ud emphasizes the benefits of breastfeeding, time and frequency of feedings, and\ud breastfeeding problem-solving. Information gained from this study can be used by\ud healthcare educators to develop comprehensive breastfeeding educational programs that\ud are tailored to the needs of low-income first-time pregnant women to help increase\ud breastfeeding initiation rates and breastfeeding duration time.CSU, Chic