Factors associated with the level of knowledge about breast milk extraction in postpartum women at a National Hospital Lima-Peru 2023

Molina Rivas L.M.; Flores Luna J.M. · Nutricion Clinica y Dietetica Hospitalaria (2026) · DOI: 10.12873/ncdh-2026-48

Resumen

Introduction. Expressing breast milk is an important alternative for maintaining exclusive breastfeeding. To do so, mothers must know how to express milk manually or with breast pumps. Objective. To identify factors associated with the level of knowledge about breast milk expression among postpartum women at a National Hospital in Lima in 2023. Materials and Methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted. The sample consisted of 95 postpartum women admitted to the National Hospital who met the established inclusion criteria. A structured questionnaire with 16 closed-ended questions with dichotomous responses was developed to assess the level of knowledge about breast milk expression. The validity and reliability of the instrument were established. The level of knowledge was initially categorized as high, medium, and low. It was then further categorized as acceptable and deficient. Informed consent was obtained after surveying the participants. A bivariate analysis was performed using Pearson’s Chi-square test and a multivariate analysis was performed using binary logistic regression, estimating the Odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence intervals. Results. 73.7% (n=70) showed an acceptable level of knowledge about breast milk expression among young adult mothers and older mothers; and 26.3% (n=25) revealed a deficient level of knowledge among young adult mothers and older mothers. Bivariate analysis using Pearson’s chi-square test and multivariate analysis using binary logistic regression revealed that none of the evaluated factors were significantly associated with the level of knowledge about breast milk expression in postpartum women (p>0.05). Conclusion. The social and cultural factors evaluated did not influence or predict the participants’ level of knowledge about breast milk expression, suggesting the need to analyze other factors in the maternal social environment that might be involved.

Instituciones: Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos