Objective

to describe pregnant women’s knowledge about breastfeeding.

Method

this is a cross-sectional study with pregnant women residing in Espírito Santo, aged 20 years or older, who had internet access. Data were collected using a self-administered instrument developed in Research Electronic Data Capture and disseminated through social media. Data were analyzed using absolute and relative frequencies.

Results

the majority of pregnant women (63.6%) did not receive guidance on breastfeeding during prenatal care; 81% were familiar with two to nine out of eleven topics related to the subject. Among the most well-known topics were those concerning “baby’s sucking and increased milk production” (n=111; 94.1%) and the “ideal duration of exclusive breastfeeding” (n=111; 94.1%).

Conclusion

there is a need to implement health education in prenatal care, given the low availability of guidance on breastfeeding.

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