Assessment of Adolescent Mothers' Knowledge Regarding Breastfeeding in Baghdad: A Cross-Sectional Study

Objective: This study aims to assess Mothers' Knowledge concerning Breastfeeding. Methods and Materials: A quantitative descriptive study on breastfeeding among adolescent mothers was carried out between October 14, 2023, and October 14, 2024, to gauge the mothers' awareness of breastfeeding. Medical City/Baghdad Teaching Hospital and Welfare Teaching Hospital for Children were the study sites. Fifty teenage mothers from Medical City/Baghdad Teaching Hospital and Welfare Teaching Hospital for Children were included in the non-probability (purposive) sampling. Mothers were chosen during the same time frame as the data collection. A self-report questionnaire was used to collect the data from the women. The data were analyzed using the Statistical Program of Social Science (SPSS) version 26.0, focusing on frequency, percentage, mean score, and standard deviation. The Chi-square was used to find out the relationships between mothers’ knowledge and their demographic characteristics, such as age, education, and occupation. The knowledge was classified into three levels according to the mean score: (1-1.33 = Low), (1.34-1.67 = Moderate), and (1.68-2 = High). Findings: This finding shows that 64% of adolescents’ mothers had high levels of Knowledge about breastfeeding. The overall mean score and standard deviation were (1.746±0.196). Conclusion: Most adolescent mothers have a high level of knowledge about breastfeeding. The researcher recommended maintaining this high level of mothers’ knowledge by providing education programs, training courses, booklets, and increasing media coverage.