Evaluación de conocimientos actitudes y prácticas en lactancia materna, destete y alimentación complementaria a través de la Guía Food and Agriculture Organization en madres lactantes del Hospital General Riobamba 2021.

Abstract

The objective of this research was to evaluate the knowledge, attitudes and practices on breastfeeding, weaning and complementary feeding in breastfeeding mothers, for which the 2014 Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Guide in force at the time was used. For data collection, two types of questionnaires were used: the first for mothers/guardians with children under 6 months and the second for mothers/guardians with children from 6 to 24 months, these were adapted according to the population under study, to obtain information, the interview technique was used for breastfeeding mothers/guardians, several questions were asked with multiple options, to facilitate the answers in relation to the research topic. Subsequently, a database was created with all the information collected in Microsoft Excel 2010 and the data was cleaned. For the statistical analysis, the database was imported and the statistical program JMP version 16 was used to determine the distributions in percentages and their subsequent interpretation. It was determined that the evaluation of these parameters in breastfeeding mothers/guardians has insufficient levels according to the knowledge of breastfeeding, complementary feeding and weaning, which results in unsafe practices and incorrect attitudes. It is concluded that the level of knowledge in breastfeeding and complementary feeding are basic, in what refers to practices and attitudes they have a medium to high level, while in what refers to weaning they have a low level of knowledge. All these factors directly affect the health and nutritional status of the child. It is recommended that breastfeeding mothers/guardians and users be educated on an ongoing basis about the importance of infant feeding to ensure proper growth and development.