Attitudes toward Breastfeeding and Breastfeeding Practice: Lack of Support for Breastfeeding in Public as a Factor in Low Breastfeeding Rates

Buturović, Željka and Ignjatović, Suzana and Rašević, Mirjana (2017) Attitudes toward Breastfeeding and Breastfeeding Practice: Lack of Support for Breastfeeding in Public as a Factor in Low Breastfeeding Rates. Journal of Applied Health Sciences, 3 (2). pp. 137-143. ISSN 2459-5640

Text Attitudes toward Breastfeeding and Breastfeeding Practice. Lack of Support for Breastfeeding in Public as a Factor in Low Breastfeeding Rates. pdf.pdf - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives. Download (1MB)

Abstract

Serbia is a country with one of the lowest breastfeeding rates in the world: 51% of women initiate breastfeeding and only 13% exclusively breastfeed for 6 months. Since Serbian social and health policies are rather favourable, the focus should be placed on psychosocial and cultural factors and attitudes as factors in breastfeeding decisions. Public breastfeeding is one of the most controversial issues. Lack of support for public breastfeeding could, by discouraging women from breastfeeding more openly, significantly contribute to low rates of breastfeeding and its short duration. The aim of this study was to determine to what extent mothers, fathers, and non-parents were supportive of public breastfeeding, independently and compared to their other attitudes about breastfeeding. A survey of 1884 Serbian adults – mostly highly engaged mothers – was conducted online. The average support for uncovered breastfeeding in public was 6.3 on a 10-point scale. There was a statistically significant variation in support for public breastfeeding by breastfeeding intensity (among mothers), parenting status and gender. There were no significant differences in support by age and education. Support for public breastfeeding was lower than support for breastfeeding in general. Even highly engaged and informed mothers, who are very supportive of breastfeeding in general, are not very supportive of public breastfeeding. The same tendency was found in the general public represented by non-parents in our sample. A widespread disapproval of public breastfeeding could present practical obstacles to breastfeeding. These findings indicate that attitudes toward breastfeeding should be taken into account in future policies aimed at supporting breastfeeding.

Actions (login required)

View Item