Title: Evaluation of the knowledge, attitude and behavior of immigrant women on regard to breast-feeding

Author:

Leloudenia Tsouropli, RN, MSc

Institution:

National & Kapodestrian University of Athens, Faculty of Nursing

Objectives:

The purpose of nursing is the proper care of an individual, a family or a group of people. In this paper, taking in account the increased immigration in Greece for the last 15 years, there is an attempt to evaluate the knowledge, attitude and behavior of immigrant women on breast-feeding. This study is targeting to immigrant women as well as the health care scientists.

Material & Methods:

In order to accomplish the above, the first 60 immigrant women that visited the Pediatric hospital from 1^st until 31 of November were chosen. For the Evaluation of those three (3) parameters an appropriate questioner was made up and used from the researcher. The tool before its actual use was tested by means of taking out all elements that would reduce the validity of this study.

Results:45 out of the 60 immigrant women were coming from Albania (75%) while 33 of them were graduates of a second-degree school (61,67%). Most of the mothers were giving birth for a first time, since for half of them (50%) it was the first time that were entering maternity. The collection and analysis of the collected data provided that mothers breast-feed their first child for an average of 6,49 months. Furthermore, from the collected data turned out that that 41 out of the 60 immigrant women (68,33%) didn't experience any difficulties during the breast-feeding period.

A major role on picking breast-feeding was the influence from their mothers in a portion of 41,66%. 50 out of the 60 women were aware for some of the benefits that breast-feeding provides to infants, while a great part (36,67%) of those women wasn't aware of any benefit that breast-feeding provides to them. Family seems to provide a major contribution of knowledge for the women since in a portion of 66,67% the women are getting the first and necessary information related to breast-feeding from their family. In reply to the question raised to the mothers, if during the breast-feeding period, was a need for psychological support, only 15 women (25%) replied that had such a need. Finally, out of the 60 women only 18 didn't use any feeding technique while the rest 42 women were using a mixture of other feeding techniques and breast-feeding.

Conclussions:The analysis of the collected data resulted that breast feeding is one of the major feeding techniques that is used from immigrant women no matter the country they are coming from or their education level and their age.