Knowledge of students in a nursing course about breastfeeding

Objective: To investigate students' knowledge about breastfeeding in the first and fourth year of a Bachelor of Nursing course. Methods: An observational, transversal and descriptive study using a quantitative approach, developed in a public university in the state of Sao Paulo. The data collection instrument contained 25 questions, divided into seven blocks. The analysis was based on descriptive statistics and the Mann-Whitney test. Results: The research participants included 66 students from the first year and 64 from the fourth year. The mean score of students in first year was 9.9 questions and at the fourth year was 17.8 questions (Mann-Whitney test: 35.1 vs. 96.8 [p < 0.000]). The students of the fourth year obtained higher scores in all blocks of questions. Conclusions: This confirms the need for greater efforts and incentives for the improvement of other opportunities during undergraduate studies, to facilitate students' improved performance, to act with confidence in practice to promote breastfeeding.