Knowledge and attitudes towards breastfeeding among students with various study backgrounds

Abstract Background Although exclusive breastfeeding is recommended for the first six months, only about 44% of infants are exclusively breastfed worldwide. Studies show that this might be related to a common lack of knowledge and negative attitudes towards breatfeeding. Despite some studies with medical students, there is a lack of studies on this topic among students from various educational backgrounds. Therefore, we aimed to determine knowledge of students from various study programs about infant feeding and attitudes towards exclusive breastfeeding. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted. Data was collected in February-March 2025 using an anonymous online survey. The sample included 394 Vilnius University students. The distribution of the respondents was analyzed by their knowledge level, attitudes, and sociodemographic variables. Results The majority (84.3%) of the respondents were women. Most (78.7%) were aged 18-22. Every second (47.0%) of the respondents had a high level of knowledge. Women, undergraduate students, 1st-3rd year students, those from faculties not directly related to health sciences more frequently had lower knowledge (respectively, 55.7% vs. 38.7%, 58.3% vs. 39.5%, 61.6% vs. 38.2%, 66.4% vs. 30.1%, p < 0.05). No knowledge differences were found by age, having younger siblings or having children (p > 0.05). Two thirds (67.5%) of the sample demonstrated a positive attitude towards exclusive breastfeeding. A larger proportion of undergraduate students and those from faculties unrelated to health sciences had negative attitudes more frequently (respectively 36.1% vs. 22.9%, 42.3% vs. 17.8%, p < 0.05). Attitudes did not differ by gender, age, study year, having younger siblings, or children (p > 0.05). Conclusions Most students lacked knowledge about breastfeeding but were positive about it. Lower level of knowledge and negative attitudes more frequently were observed among undergraduate students and those from faculties unrelated to health sciences. Key messages • Many students lacked breastfeeding knowledge, especially women, undergraduates, 1st-3rd students and those from non-health fields. • Despite positive attitudes towards breastfeeding among two thirds of students, undergraduates and those not related with health sciences had negative attitudes more frequently.