Alwelaie Yazeed A, Alsuhaibani Eyas A, Al-Harthy Abrar M, Radwan Reem H, Al-Mohammady Rawan G, Almutairi Ahmed M
Faculty of Medicine, King Fahd Medical City, PO Box 59046, Riyadh 11525, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Med J. 2010 Feb;31(2):193-8.
To study the knowledge and attitude of Saudi women towards breastfeeding.
A cross-sectional study conducted in 3 major hospitals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia during the period 7 July--22 July 2009. Eight hundred and forty-eight women in the post-natal and post-cesarean section wards were included in the study along with women attending antenatal clinics. An Arabic questionnaire was generated and completed by women.
Of the 848 participating women, 61.5% fell within the age groups between 21-30 years. Most women (49.8%) have a college or higher education. Only 55.8% of women have previously received breastfeeding education, and approximately 54.2% of women received breastfeeding education when they were in the hospital for delivery. Approximately 48.5% preferred mixed feeding, followed by exclusive breastfeeding (36.8%). The most important reasons for discontinuing breastfeeding were: baby was ill (38.2%), a health professional asked mother not to breastfeed for medical reasons (61.1%), mother was sick or needed to take medicine (71.8%), and finally the use of contraception that interferes with milk supply (32.8%).
We found that breastfeeding during the first few months of life was not optimal. The percentage of exclusive breastfeeding was low despite high level of their education. Mixed feeding was the predominant mode of feeding, which raised the need for targeted breastfeeding education. Health care providers should be encouraged to continuously educate women on the benefits of breastfeeding.
研究沙特女性对母乳喂养的知识和态度。
2009年7月7日至7月22日期间，在沙特阿拉伯利雅得的3家主要医院进行了一项横断面研究。纳入研究的对象包括产后病房和剖宫产术后病房的848名女性以及参加产前检查门诊的女性。由女性填写一份阿拉伯语问卷。
在848名参与研究的女性中，61.5%年龄在21至30岁之间。大多数女性（49.8%）拥有大专或更高学历。只有55.8%的女性此前接受过母乳喂养教育，约54.2%的女性在住院分娩时接受过母乳喂养教育。约48.5%的女性倾向于混合喂养，其次是纯母乳喂养（36.8%）。停止母乳喂养的最重要原因是：婴儿生病（38.2%）、医护人员因医疗原因要求母亲停止母乳喂养（61.1%）、母亲生病或需要服药（71.8%），最后是使用影响乳汁分泌的避孕措施（32.8%）。
我们发现出生后最初几个月的母乳喂养情况并不理想。尽管她们的教育水平较高，但纯母乳喂养的比例较低。混合喂养是主要的喂养方式，这增加了开展有针对性的母乳喂养教育的必要性。应鼓励医护人员持续向女性宣传母乳喂养的益处。
