Evaluation of the Effectiveness of a Program on Breastfeeding for Medical Interns Assiut University

The WHO and UNICEF advocate for infants to start nursing within the first hour post-birth and to be exclusively breastfed for the first six months of life. Commencing at six months of age, children should start the consumption of safe and sufficient supplemental meals while maintaining breastfeeding for up to two years or longer (WHO), 2025) . Abd El Khalek et al. assessed the impact of instructional guidelines on 100 pregnant women at South Valley University Hospital. Initially, most had poor knowledge, negative attitudes, and inadequate practices. After one month of guidelines implementation, significant improvements in women awareness regrading breastfeeding were observed . Bahaa et al. reported that breastfeeding is a critical concern for the entire community. Their study assessed the knowledge and practices of 261 lactating mothers at Awlad Saqr Center Al Sharkia governate.

Findings showed that 73.2% practiced EBF, while only 45.2% had sufficient knowledge. Intentions for EBF for six months were high (86.2%). The study concluded that despite acceptable EBF rates, knowledge gaps remain, highlighting the need to enhance counseling services during antenatal and postnatal care .

One of the best ways to improve the survival and condition of newborns is breastfeeding . Ensuring ideal breastfeeding habits depends significantly on the encouragement and assistance of healthcare workers, especially physicians. A program on breastfeeding for medical interns is crucial to find gaps and helping to enhance medical support and education within the healthcare system. The overall aim is to evaluate the effectiveness of an educational program on breastfeeding for the medical intern at Assiut University.

Specific objectives:

1. Evaluation of the knowledge regarding breastfeeding for medical interns. 2. Implementing an educational program based on the UNICEF Baby-Friendly Initiative for the medical intern. 3. Measuring the effectiveness of the educational program on breastfeeding.