IMPE Abstracts

The objective of this study was to determine the knowledge of pregnant women about the benefits of breastfeeding for the baby's health in the short and long term and also to compare the degree of knowledge with sociodemographic and clinical variables. This research is a cross-sectional, descriptive study, through questionnaires applied to pregnant women. Statistical analysis was performed with the SPSS 26.0 program, with a significance level of 5%. The questionnaire addressed the following questions regarding the benefits of breastfeeding: reduced risk of death for infectious disease, sudden-death, diarrhea, respiratory-infection, asthma, dental-malocclusion, obesity, Diabetes Mellitus type 1 and 2, leukemia, allergy, emotional disorders, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Inattention and Hyperactivity Disorder (IHD), in addition to a greater chance of achieving better education and future income. Seventy-eight pregnant women participated in the research. It is noteworthy that a large percentage of pregnant women were unaware of many benefits of breastfeeding, such as "greater education" (85.9%) and "higher income" (89.5%). Of the 17 listed benefits of breastfeeding, only five were known to more than 50% of pregnant women: reduced risk of "death from infectious diseases," "diarrhea," "respiratory-infections," "dental-malocclusion," and "allergies." Regarding the gestational trimester, a statistically significant difference was observed only in the knowledge about allergy reduction. There was no statistical difference between the level of knowledge according to schooling. Multiparous women showed more knowledge about the reduction of "Leukemia" and "IHD" and the achievement of "greater education." Unexpectedly, women with incomes less than two minimum wages knew more about how breastfeeding prevents "sudden death." There was no difference in the degree of knowledge regarding the benefits of breastfeeding between pregnant women who followed prenatal care at the "low-risk" or "high-risk" prenatal service. We observed a low general level of knowledge about most of the content questioned. Pregnant women with more advanced pregnancies and multiparous scored better in some items. However, in most of the items asked, there was no evolution of the level of knowledge with the evolution of the gestational trimester, which characterizes a loss of opportunity to carry out health promotion during prenatal consultations. We emphasize the need to improve the knowledge of pregnant women about the benefits of breastfeeding, focusing on the impact on the health of their future child until adulthood. This approach should occur in routine prenatal consultations and also at a pediatric, prenatal consultations, in addition to information campaigns for the general public.