Increasing Mothers' Knowledge and Attitude on Exclusive Breastfeeding Using Booklets as Media in Watershed Areas

Abstract

There are various factors related to the failure of giving exclusive breastfeeding in the first six months of life, one of which is the knowledge and attitude of breastfeeding mothers. This study aims to assess the effectiveness of booklets as a medium in increasing the knowledge and attitudes of breastfeeding mothers on exclusive breastfeeding for infants 0-6 months in the watershed areas of Kampar district. Quasy-experiment design with one group pretest and posttest research design on 34 respondents, which was taken using a purposive sampling technique. Health education using booklets were given to the mothers of 0-6 month-old babies for three days. The research questionnaire used was valid and reliable. A t-test dependent sample t-test analysis was used for a statistical test. The results showed that the majority of mothers did not exclusively breastfeed their babies (67.60%). The range of the mothers’ age was 20-35 years (82%), where most were high school graduates (61.8%) and housewives (73.5). The average knowledge and attitudes of breastfeeding mothers increased after being educated using the booklets, as much as 3.85 for knowledge and 33.91 for attitudes. Education using the media of booklets was statistically effective in increasing the knowledge and attitudes of breastfeeding mothers on exclusive breastfeeding for infants aged 0-6 months in the watershed areas. The use of booklets in breastfeeding education is an effective medium for the counseling of breastfeeding mothers.
 Keywords: exclusive breastfeeding, booklet, knowledge, attitude, breastfeeding mothers, watershed