Educational Priorities for Breastfeeding Support Across Career Stages: A Survey of Brazilian Pediatricians and...

Pediatricians play a central role in breastfeeding support, yet educational gaps persist in training programs worldwide. Understanding how educational priorities vary across career stages may help optimize breastfeeding education for health care professionals.

This study aimed to identify distinct professional profiles among physicians providing pediatric care attending the Brazilian Congress of Pediatrics and to characterize their self-reported educational priorities regarding breastfeeding in order to inform continuing education initiatives tailored to the needs of different professional profiles.

A cross-sectional electronic survey was conducted during the 41st Brazilian Congress of Pediatrics (Florianópolis, Brazil; October 2024). Participants included 290 physicians providing pediatric care-board-certified pediatricians (n = 164), pediatric residents (n = 109), and physicians without pediatric specialty certification providing pediatric care (n = 17). Fourteen binary variables representing clinical practice context and perceived causes of early weaning were used for cluster analysis. Educational priorities were assessed through classification of open-ended responses into thematic categories.

Three distinct clusters were identified, forming a career-stage gradient. Cluster 1 (n = 111, 38.3%) comprised predominantly early career professionals (mean age, 31.7 years; 64.9% residents) who prioritized technique/management. Cluster 2 (n = 44, 15.2%) showed intermediate characteristics, with emphasis on mother/family education and support network. Cluster 3 (n = 135, 46.6%) included mostly senior pediatricians (mean age, 44.7 years; 77.8% board-certified) who prioritized legislation/work, myths/misinformation, and the pediatrician's role. This gradient emerged despite demographic variables being excluded from the clustering algorithm.

Three distinct professional profiles with differing educational priorities were identified. Educational needs followed a career-stage gradient, ranging from practical clinical skills among early-career professionals to leadership, coordination, and policy competencies among senior pediatricians. The emphasis on the pediatrician's role among senior professionals underscores a perceived need to reassert the pediatrician as the central coordinator of the breastfeeding support team. These findings support the development of career-stage-tailored educational strategies to maximize the relevance and effectiveness of continuing education initiatives.