Dewan N, Wood L, Maxwell S, Cooper C, Brabin B
Tropical Child Health Group, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Pembroke Place, Liverpool L3 5QA, UK.
J Hum Nutr Diet. 2002 Feb;15(1):33-7. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-277x.2002.00332.x.
To determine the knowledge and attitudes of teenage mothers towards breast-feeding.
A questionnaire of teenage (< 20 years) and non-teenage (> or = 20 years) primigravidae attending the antenatal care services at the Liverpool Women's Hospital, during the period April-May 2000.
Forty teenage primigravidae and 40 non-teenage primigravidae registered for the survey. Teenagers had poorer knowledge about breast-feeding than the non-teenagers, and fewer teenagers considered breast milk the best food for their baby. More teenagers than non-teenagers planned to bottle feed [23 (57.5%) vs. 9 (22.5%), P=0.002]. Only one teenager had knowledge about colostrum. Teenagers were more often single, had a lower level of education, higher unemployment, higher smoking frequency and less contact with a person who had previously breast-fed.
Teenage primigravidae have poor knowledge regarding breast-feeding compared with non-teenage primigravidae. A greater proportion of teenagers opted not to breast-feed compared with non-teenagers. Health education classes stressing the importance of breast-feeding should be emphasized in antenatal teenage clinics. More research is needed to understand how to improve the knowledge and motivation of adolescent girls to breast feed.
