[Adolescents and breast feeding]

The attitudes and future decisions of teenage girls towards infant feeding methods, breast-feeding or bottle feeding have been investigated. A self-conducted questionnaire was completed by 146 secondary school girls ranging in age from 16 to 18 years. Economic convenience, better nutritional value, deeper emotional link with the infant, own and friends past experience nearly always in favour of breast-feeding, represent for the girls the main advantages of breast-feeding. On the other hand, many girls apprehend breast-feeding for various possible physical, psychological and social implications. Some aspects of the problem studied in this paper show a significant correlation with the future choice of infant feeding. The girls would be interested in receiving information at school. Suitable information during school health lessons may positively influence teenage girls to adopt breast-feeding as the infant feeding method of choice.