Indonesian students' knowledge of breastfeeding

This study sought information on the knowledge and attitudes of female Indonesian students studying at the Curtin University of Technology in Perth, Western Australia, towards infant feeding and to study their intention to breastfeed in the future. Ninety-three percent of the respondents knew that breastmilk is an infant's preferred first food and 86% of the students knew the benefits of breastfeeding. However only 29% of respondents knew that a baby should be breastfed soon after birth. Only half of the respondents had encountered any information on breastfeeding, and where they had, it was mainly received from family or from the media (magazines, television, Internet) rather than from formal educational sources. The knowledge scores of students was significantly associated with their age group, religion and ethnicity. This study highlights the opportunity available to educate students studying in Australia on breastfeeding to reduce the risk that these students will seek to imitate the lower initiation and shorter duration of breastfeeding found in our western society.