Experience of nurse breastfeeding training in the General Hospital of Mexico.

Objective. To evaluate the change of knowledge in nurses attending an eighteen-hour lactation course at the General Hospital of Mexico. Material and methods. The study was conducted from May 1996 to May 1997 and consisted of a breastfeeding training course and pre and post-test course evaluations of nurse participants. One-hundred-and-forty out of 152 nurses were trained and evaluated. Statistical analysis consisted of a paired t-test and analysis of variance, Results, Of 152 nurses attending the course, 140 (92%) completed pre and post-course evaluations, Global results of pre and post-tests were 5.39+/-1.37 and 7.74+/-0.79, (p < 0.001). The difference was still significant after we compared the instruction level of participants. There was a trend towards a higher level of instruction among those with higher knowledge on lactation in the post-course evaluation (p = 0.004). Conclusions. An 18-hour course given to nurses significantly increased in knowledge on lactation.