Chinese mothers' knowledge and attitudes about breastfeeding in Perth, Western Australia.

The objective of the research was to describe Chinese-Australian (Mandarin speaking) mothers knowledge about and attitudes towards breastfeeding. Data for this cross-sectional survey was obtained by telephone interviews conducted in Mandarin. A sample of 506 Mandarin-speaking women was recruited and interviewed in Perth, Western Australia. The majority came from mainland China (81.6%), were aged between 23 and 59 years, and had some tertiary education (76.3%). Most of the mothers (90.9%) indicated that they supported breastfeeding for all infants and most had some knowledge about the benefits of breastfeeding. The main reasons that mothers considered stopping breastfeeding were not having enough breastmilk and going back to work or study. The higher the family income, the less preference toward breastfeeding. These findings highlighted the significance of social and cultural factors that impact on the women's decisions to initiate and maintain breastfeeding.