An Evaluation of a Breastfeeding Education Intervention Among Spanish-Speaking Families

This study assessed the impact of an educational breastfeeding intervention on the knowledge, attitudes and perceived ability to access breastfeeding resources among Spanish-speaking Latino families making breastfeeding decisions. Conducted in cooperation with the local office of The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), this university-based, multidisciplinary outreach and research project was held in a semirural part of Utah, where Latinos constitute the fastest and largest growing group of the population and have the lowest breastfeeding duration rates. The results suggested that teaching a lactation class in Spanish to Latino women significantly increased their willingness to breastfeed and empowered them by increasing their belief that they could breastfeed even if they work or attend school, that they would not have a problem with insufficient milk, and that they would not need to limit their diet to breastfeed. Additionally, the study indicated that Latino women are more likely to access health care services from agencies providing services in Spanish, regardless of their secondary fluency in English.