Jan Froehlich co-authors article on attitudes about breastfeeding in 'Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior'

Jan Froehlich, M.S., OTR/L, associate professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy, recently published an article in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior that she co-authored with students and a community partner.

“Influencing University Students’ Knowledge and Attitudes toward Breastfeeding” describes the results of an experiment in which university students were surveyed about their feelings regarding breastfeeding The students were polled before they were required to read a fact sheet on breastfeeding benefits and recommendations taken from the American Academy of Pediatrics Policy Statement on Breastfeeding and the Use of Human Milk, as well as immediately after reading it, and then again one month later.

Froehlich and her co-researchers found that “reading facts about breastfeeding appeared to positively affect the majority of participants’ knowledge and attitudes toward breastfeeding” and that “increased knowledge about breastfeeding benefits may motivate people already committed to breastfeeding to continue breastfeeding despite difficulties or embarrassment that may arise in the early months.”

Full citation:
Froehlich, J., Boivin, M., Rice, D., McGraw, K., Munson, E., Walter, K.C., & Bloch, M.K.S. (2013). Influencing university students’ knowledge and attitudes toward breastfeeding. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 45(3), 282-284.
 

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