It's not the contents, it's the container: Australian parents' awareness and acceptance of infant and young child feeding recommendations.

Abstract

Adherence to public health recommendations around infant and young child feeding is poor amongst Australian parents. This study aimed to investigate Australian parents' awareness and acceptance of public health recommendations about infant feeding. A cross-sectional design was used to survey a convenience sample of Australian parents. A total of 439 surveys were collected by intercept over 2 days from parents of children less than 5 years old, including those expecting a first baby, at the Pregnancy, Babies and Children (PBC) Expo held in Sydney in May 2008. Only 58.3% were aware of the WHO and NHMRC recommendation of 6 months exclusive breastfeeding. Fewer than 70% of respondents indicated that they thought breastfeeding should continue to 12 months or later, in accordance with the NHMRC guidelines, and only 12.3% thought breastfeeding should continue to 24 months or later, in accordance with WHO recommendations. This research suggests that awareness and acceptance of infant feeding recommendations in Australia is poor.