Knowledge, Attitude, and Intention of Breastfeeding among Male and Female University Students

Background: Breastfeeding is an important public health strategy for improving short-term and long-term health consequences of the mothers and their infants. Paternal breastfeeding knowledge and intention may influence the maternal choice of breastfeeding.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine university undergraduate females’ and males’ knowledge, attitudes and intention toward breastfeeding.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 492 university students included 300 female and 192 male. A questionnaire with sociodemographic information and validated scales to explore: Exposure to breastfeeding, knowledge about Breastfeeding, Iowa Infant Feeding Attitude Scale, and Infant Feeding Intentions was administered online to the university students.

Results: The participants’ exposure to breastfeeding was considerably high(89.8%). There was a highly significant positive correlation between sex and the knowledge and attitude scores (r=0.22, r=0.26, P=<0.001) where females had more knowledge and positive attitude towards breastfeeding compared to males. Whereas males scored higher on intention scale (P<0.001). Furthermore, there was a highly significant positive correlation between knowledge and attitude among the participants (r=0.46, P<0.001 ). More than half (57.5% ) of the students agreed that breast milk is the ideal food for babies and that breastfeeding is healthier than formula feeding and would increase mother-infant bonding. However, the majority of the participants reported low intention to breastfeed and that they will only formula feed their babies (75.8%). There was a highly significant inverse association between knowledge scores and intention (r =-0.26, P<0.001).

Conclusions: Overall, the findings from this study revealed that although both males and female university students had good knowledge and attitude about breastfeeding, their intention to breastfeed was low. This is alarming and necessitates that educational programs should promote breastfeeding in schools and universities in order to increase awareness and knowledge about the short term and long term benefits of breastfeeding.