Investigating the effectiveness of school-based breastfeeding education on breastfeeding knowledge, attitudes and intentions of adolescent females.

Breastfeeding intentions are usually shaped prior to conception, often as early as adolescence. Secondary school reproductive curriculum may be an appropriate setting to provide breastfeeding information on a population level. The purpose of this pilot study was to investigate the impact of a school-based breastfeeding educational intervention on the breastfeeding knowledge, attitudes and future infant feeding intentions of secondary school adolescent females; as well as assess the acceptability and feasibility of the intervention among the target population. Participants consisted of a convenience sample of 77 adolescent female students from an Ontario secondary school. Participants received one 70 min breastfeeding educational session in health education class. Data were collected using self-administered questionnaire at baseline and one day after the intervention. A modified version of the Iowa Infant Feeding Attitude Scale (IIFAS) and a modified breastfeeding knowledge scale were used to measure breastfeeding attitudes and knowledge. Additional outcomes measured included future breastfeeding intentions and participants' perceptions of the educational session. Breastfeeding knowledge (p < 0.001), attitudes (p < 0.001), and future intentions of participants to exclusively breastfeed increased significantly (p < 0.05) at post-test. The participant feedback indicated that they found the content useful, interesting and the information was presented in an engaging manner. These findings suggest that adolescent females are receptive to learning about breastfeeding in school and a single school-based breastfeeding educational intervention can positively impact breastfeeding knowledge, attitudes and future intentions of adolescent females. The secondary school setting may be an ideal setting for the inclusion of educational breastfeeding content to enable future informed decision making.