REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE
A 2004 study by Hellings and Howe examined breastfeeding knowledge and education in 77 PNPs. Their results indicated that 97.4% of these PNPs believe that their role includes recommending breastfeeding to expectant mothers. However, when these PNPs were asked about the education they received with regard to breastfeeding in their PNP programs, the degree of perceived adequacy of that education and of breastfeeding experiences ranged widely. For example, whereas 35.1% of respondents never observed a breastfeeding woman during their educational program, about one third (33.8%) of respondents observed five or more breastfeeding women. Similar trends emerged regarding the opportunity to teach breastfeeding techniques and to counsel mothers about breastfeeding problems. More than half of the respondents (60%) felt adequately prepared by their programs, but about 32% did not feel very well prepared (Hellings & Howe, 2004). These findings indicate that not only is the breastfeeding education inconsistent, but it is also potentially inadequate.