Knowledge of pharmacists about breastfeeding: a study in commercial pharmacies of Fortaleza – Ceará - Brazil

Objective: To evaluate the knowledge of pharmacists who work in commercial pharmacies in Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil, about breastfeeding. Methods: This was an observational, descriptive and transversal study. We used a questionnaire approaching the profile of pharmacists and general knowledge about breastfeeding and Brazilian Standard for Marketing of Food for Infants and Young Child, teats, dummies and Bottles (BSMFI). Data collection occurred from January to March 2011. Through drawing, we selected 82 commercial pharmacies, corresponding to 15.5% of all pharmacies in Fortaleza, when held up contact with their pharmacists. The questionnaire was administered to 67 pharmacists. The results were statistically analyzed using the Epi Info v. And v 3.5.1 SigmaPlot. 10.0. Results: Among the participants, 72% (n = 48) were female, 35.8% (n = 24) are formed over ten years, 49.3% (n = 33) working in pharmacy business for less than five years, and 52.2% (n = 35) engaged in professional activity at other establishments. The level of knowledge was rated as fair to 71.7% (n = 48) of respondents; insufficient to 17.9% (n = 12) and good for 10.4% (n = 07). This low performance, not reaching the maximum score, was associated with exercise time in the profession, noting that trained professionals for more than ten years had lower knowledge. Conclusion: Respondents recognize the importance of breastfeeding for both the baby’s health as for the mother. However, they lack knowledge of relevant information concerning the correct management of breastfeeding, especially among those who graduated earlier.