AB1573-HPR INFANT FEEDING ATTITUDE, SELF-EFFICACY, AND KNOWLEDGE ABOUT BREASTFEEDING: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY IN WOMEN WITH RHEUMATIC DISEASES
Authors: A. Carrazco-Chapa, J. A. Cardenas-de la Garza, A. G. Rodriguez-Flores, G. Rodriguez-Orozco, D. Ramos, R. L. Polina-Lugo, K. Palomo Arnaud, M. Ponce, A. L. Guajardo-Aldaco, P. Reyes Sierra, F. Gorostieta, G. G. Sandoval Torres, N. Neri, L. Perez-Barbosa, C. M. Skinner-Taylor, D. A. Galarza-Delgado
Journal: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (2024)

<h3>Background:</h3> Breastfeeding (BF) is associated with multiple benefits for infants and their mothers. Different factors influence its practice, such as the level of knowledge, women's attitude toward feeding practices, the mother's confidence in BF her child correctly as well as sociodemographic determinants. A lack of information and support makes it difficult for women with autoimmune rheumatic diseases (ARDs) to make well-informed decisions about infant feeding during their long-term disease management [1]. <h3>Objectives:</h3> We aimed to identify the infant feeding attitude, the level of BF knowledge, and BF self-efficacy in reproductive-age women with ARDs. <h3>Methods:</h3> An observational, cross-sectional, and descriptive study. We included reproductive-age women with ARDs who had ever been pregnant from the Rheumatology department of the University Hospital "Dr. José Eleuterio González", in Mexico who answered 3 surveys about BF. The Iowa Infant Feeding Attitude Scale (IIFAS) classifies into positive toward formula feeding (17 – 48 score), neutral (49 – 69 score), and positive toward BF (70 – 85 score) [2]. The BF self-efficacy scale measures the mother's confidence in BF her child correctly with scores ranging from 0 to 48 [3]. The basic BF knowledge questionnaire is classified into three categories: poor (&lt;9.5), regular (9.5 - 11.5), and good (&gt;11.5) level of knowledge [4]. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was used to determine normality. Data were presented as percent frequency, median, and interquartile range (IQR) as appropriate. Spearman's correlation test and a binary logistic regression were performed. The statistical analysis was performed with SPSS v.25. <h3>Results:</h3> A total of 65 reproductive-age women with ARDs with a mean age of 41.32 ± 7.48 were included. The most frequent diagnosis was rheumatoid arthritis with 38 women (58.5%), followed by systemic lupus erythematosus with 10 women (15.4%). Sociodemographic and clinical characteristics are in Table 1. Out of the total, 63 (97%) women agreed with the BF practice in the first 6 months. The most prevalent infant feeding attitude was neutral with 42 (64.6%) women. The most common level of BF knowledge was poor with 45 (69.2%) patients. The BF self-efficacy median score was 41 (35 – 43). The BF survey results are described in Table 2. There were significant correlations of BF knowledge with education years (p= &lt;0.001, r= 0.464) and age (p= 0.049, r= -0.245). A significative correlation was found between BF self-efficacy with age (p= 0.039, r= 0.257). Education level &gt;9 years (OR = 3.400; <i>p</i> = 0.035, 95% CI= 1.091 - 10.593) and miscarriage history (OR = 3.670; <i>p</i> = 0.042, 95% CI= 1.051 - 12.813) were independently associated with a positive attitude towards BF. <h3>Conclusion:</h3> Although most women with ARDs agreed with BF their children for the first 6 months, we identified that 69% of women had poor BF knowledge. Higher education and lower maternal age were associated with higher BF knowledge. A positive attitude towards BF was associated with a higher education level and miscarriage history. Finally, maternal age also contributed to BF self-efficacy. Information about BF attitude, knowledge, and self-efficacy in women with ARDs may help improve BF practices in these populations. <h3>REFERENCES:</h3> [1] Williams D, Webber J, Pell B, Grant A, Sanders J, Choy E, et al. "Nobody knows, or seems to know how rheumatology and breastfeeding works": Women's experiences of breastfeeding whilst managing a long-term limiting condition – A qualitative visual methods study. Midwifery. 2019;78:91-6. [2] Aguilar-Navarro H, Coronado-Castilleja A, Gómez-Hernández O, Cobos-Aguilar H. Adaptación de la Iowa Infant Feeding Attitude Scale en población mexicana. Acta pediátrica de México. 2016;37(3):149-58. [3] Juárez-Castelán MA, Rojas-Russell ME, Serrano-Alvarado K, Gómez-García JA, Huerta-Ibáñez A, Ramírez-Aguilar M. Diseño y validación de un instrumento para medir la autoeficacia para lactar de mujeres embarazadas mexicanas. Psychologia Avances de la disciplina. 2018;12(1):25-34. [4] Suárez-Cotelo MDC, Movilla-Fernández MJ, Pita-García P, Arias BF, Novío S. Breastfeeding knowledge and relation to prevalence. Rev Esc Enferm USP. 2019;53:e03433. <h3>Acknowledgements:</h3> <b>NIL.</b> <h3>Disclosure of Interests:</h3> <b>None declared.</b>