KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE AND PRACTICE OF BREASTFEEDING AMONG WORKING AND NON-WORKING MOTHERS IN SAUDI ARABIA | ||||
Egyptian Journal of Occupational Medicine | ||||
Article 10, Volume 42, Issue 1, January 2018, Page 133-150 PDF (433.24 K) | ||||
Document Type: Study paper | ||||
DOI: 10.21608/ejom.2018.4944 | ||||
View on SCiNiTO | ||||
Authors | ||||
Elmougy AM1; Matter MK1; Shalaby NM1; El-Regal ME1; Abu Ali WH2; Aldossary SS3; Elsherbeny EE4; El-Saed A4 | ||||
1Department of Pediatric, Mansoura university children Hospital | ||||
2Department of Pediatric, King Fahad University Hospital, Medical College, Dammam University, Dammam, | ||||
3Department of Pediatric, Saad Specialist Hospital, Alkhobar, Saudi Arabia. | ||||
4Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Mansoura University | ||||
Abstract | ||||
last 3 decades that potentially promote women employment. The impact of working status on the mother’s awareness and practices of breastfeeding has never been the focus of previous local studies. Aim of work: to examine the awareness and practices of breastfeeding among working and non-working mothers in two centers in the Eastern region of Saudi Arabia. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out among mothers attending the Maternal and Child Health (MCH) clinics at Saad Specialist Hospital, and at King Fahad University Hospital from January to April 2015. Data were collected during an interview that covered demographic characteristics of the mothers, as well as Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice of breastfeeding. Results: A total 280 mothers (136 working and 144 non-working; 245 Saudi and 35 non-Saudi) were included in the study. The age ranged from 18 to 55 years with a mean of 29.9±8.0 years. The overall awareness of breastfeeding benefits and duration was 78.1%, with no significant difference between working and non-working mothers (79.3% versus 76.9%, p=0.195). Approximately 97.5% of the studied mothers initiated breastfeeding while 45.7% had exclusive breastfeeding for at least 6 months, with no significant differences by working status (p=0.716 and p=1.000, respectively). Several reasons for early stopping of exclusive breastfeeding were reported. Conclusion: Among mothers attending MCH services in two centers in the Eastern region, there was high awareness and better practices of breastfeeding than reported before, with no significant differences between working and non-working mothers. | ||||
Keywords | ||||
breastfeeding; Knowledge; Practices; Saudi; Working mothers and Non working mothers | ||||
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