Breastfeeding Knowledge, Attitude and Intention of Nursing Students in Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Nurses are important frontline health workers that promote and support optimum breastfeeding. They are, therefore, expected to have basic breastfeeding knowledge and favaourable attitude for better clinical experience as students and intention to breastfeed as potential parents. This study aimed to assess the breastfeeding knowledge, attitude, and intention of nursing students in Nigeria. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 142 nursing students. A validated tool was used to obtain breastfeeding knowledge, attitude, and intention of the students. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data. Results: The majority (81%) of the nursing students had adequate breastfeeding knowledge, however, only four out of every 10 students had a positive attitude towards breastfeeding and 36.6% had good intention to breastfeed in the future. This study revealed no significant relationship (p = 0.102) between the breastfeeding knowledge and attitude of the students while a significant relationship (p = 0.002) existed between breastfeeding knowledge and future breastfeeding intention of the nursing students. Conclusion: Nursing students demonstrated adequate knowledge of breastfeeding; however, their attitudes towards breastfeeding and the intention to breastfeed were inadequate. There is a need to focus on the attitudinal changes of the nursing students which could influence their future professional practices and engagement in the optimal breastfeeding practices.