[Knowledge of breastfeeding among mothers before maternity discharge]

The aim of our study was to assess the knowledge of parturients about breastfeeding and to analyze the factors influencing this level of knowledge.

It was a prospective, descriptive and analytical, cross-sectional study carried out over a period of six months including 500 parturients who gave birth at the maternity unit of the National Center for Maternity and Neonatalogy of Tunis during the period from July to December 2020. Sociodemographic, obstetrical and breastfeeding related data were collected through individual interviews carried out before leaving the postpartum service using a questionnaire written in Tunisian dialectal Arabic.

The average age of the mothers was 31.5 years. Housewives accounted for 73.3 % of cases. Forty-four percent of the women surveyed were first-time mothers. The main source of information was relatives (74.8 %). The prevalence of breastfeeding was 93.8 %. Knowledge about breasfeeding was insufficient in 76.4 % of cases. The level of knowledge was insufficient in particular regarding signs of effective breastfeeding, signs of awakening of the newborn, lactogenesis, and diet of breastfeeding women. Unemployment of the parturient age over 30 and primiparity negatively influenced the knowledge of parturients.

The level of knowledge of parturients was heterogeneous but generally insufficient. Health education programs on MA targeting subjects most at risk of insufficient knowledge should be put in place in order to improve the knowledge base and hopefully improve the breastfeeding rates.