Open AccessBREASTFEEDING: ATTITUDES AND BELIEFS OF AN AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY SAMPLE OF SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS
Author(s) -
Ellis Donelda J.
Publication year - 1983
Publication title -
community health studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.946
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1753-6405
pISSN - 0314-9021
DOI - 10.1111/j.1753-6405.1983.tb00061.x
Subject(s) - breastfeeding , medicine , infant feeding , instinct , inclusion (mineral) , pediatrics , family medicine , demography , psychology , social psychology , sociology , evolutionary biology , biology
Although most women in Australia are breastfeeding their newborns on discharge from hospital, many discontinue before their infants are six months old 1–3 Since breastfeeding is socially learned, 4 a survey of a convenience sample of 305 female and male secondary school students in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) was carried out to ascertain knowledge and attitudes about breastfeeding. Over 50 per cent thought breastfeeding was an instinct and 87 per cent believed it was the most healthful infant feeding. Most had noticed at least one infant being breastfed and 64 per cent believed themselves to have been breastfed. 80 per cent intended to breastfeed their own infants in the future. Although only 15.6 per cent felt embarrassed to see an infant breastfeeding, breastfeeding in the presence of non‐family males was unacceptable to about 80 per cent. The results have implications for political action and the inclusion of information about infant feeding into formal and informal education.