Introduction:

In health strategy implementation, such as breastfeeding, human resources are essential in order to achieve success. Objective: To evaluate the personal practices and knowledge about breastfeeding (BF) of healthcare professionals from three reference Health Services in the Capital city and San Lorenzo, Paraguay.

Materials and Methods:

This was a descriptive, cross-sectional study carried out with 147 healthcare professionals from three reference hospitals for mothers and children. Sociodemographic data, practices and knowledge about breastfeeding (BF) were collected through a self-administered survey. It was approved by the Ethics Committee.

Results:

65.3% (n=96) of the participants had children, of whom 95.8% (n=91) were breastfed and 81.3% (n=78) exclusively breastfed with a median duration of 6 months. 36.1% (n=53) received training on BF. 61.9% (n=91) know the concept of exclusive BF, 41.5% (n=61) identified benefits of BF and 47.6% (n=70) idenridiws risks due to non-consumption of breast milk. 81.6% (n=120) know about early attachment. 72.1% (n=106) know the contraindications for BF. 87.1% (n=128) know the possible complications, 67.3% (n=99) have knowledge to prevent complications.

Conclusion:

Two thirds of healthcare personnel have adequate concepts about BF, only 4 out of 10 professionals know the benefits of BF and the risks of artificial feeding. Most know about the complications of BF, but not how to prevent them.

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