1College of Agriculture and Food Sciences, King Faisal University, Al-Hafouf, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
2Department of Agribusiness and Consumer Sciences, University of Khartoum, Shambat, Sudan.
Int Breastfeed J. 2019 Apr 2;14:13. doi: 10.1186/s13006-019-0207-z. eCollection 2019.
National surveys in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia continue to show rates of breastfeeding below global recommendations. Delay of timely or early initiation of breastfeeding is common in the community. Current approaches are not addressing the major constraints. Objectives of this study were to study the pattern and determinants associated with the early and delayed initiation of breastfeeding practices among infants aged less than 24 months. Also to assess regional differences to facilitate targeted actions.
This cross-sectional study was conducted from May to August 2016, based on a sample of 1700 mothers of children aged less than 24 months. The sample was randomly selected from over 165 health centers distributed across the country, at least 33 centers in each of the five geographical regions. World Health Organization standardized questionnaire for infant and young child feeding indicators was used to prepare structured questionnaire (in English translated later to Arabic) to collect the information on breastfeeding along with general sociodemographic data.
The breastfeeding initiation rate was 97.3% (1559/1700 mothers). Only 8.3% (141) of mothers never breastfeed their children. Early initiation of breastfeeding within 1 h of birth was 43.6% (742) among all mothers surveyed while, breastfeeding initiation rates for 1-24 h and that for more than 24 h were 27 and 21% respectively. The overall prevalence of early initiation of breastfeeding (43.6%) is considered 'fair'. Regional variation showed poor prevalence 26% (79/300 mothers) in Northern region; fair 38.4% (192/500 mothers), 45% (135/300 mothers), 49% (148/300 mothers) in the Central, Western and Eastern regions respectively; and good 63% (188/300 mothers) in the Southern region. Significant associations were indicated between early initiation of breastfeeding and mode of delivery, knowledge of the mother about the right time for early initiation, receipt of breastfeeding information, the region of residence, and educational level of the mother.
Whilst some barriers to breastfeeding initiation manifest similarity across the regions some factors were context-specific thus, tailored interventions are imperative. Appropriate behavior change interventions, are needed attain optimal breastfeeding practices.
沙特阿拉伯王国的全国性调查继续显示母乳喂养率低于全球建议标准。在社区中，母乳喂养的及时或早期启动延迟很常见。目前的方法并没有解决主要的限制因素。本研究的目的是研究小于 24 个月婴儿母乳喂养的早期和延迟启动模式以及相关决定因素。并评估区域差异，以方便采取有针对性的行动。
本横断面研究于 2016 年 5 月至 8 月进行，样本为 1700 名小于 24 个月的儿童的母亲。该样本是从全国范围内分布的 165 多个卫生中心中随机抽取的，每个地理区域至少有 33 个中心。使用世界卫生组织标准化婴儿和幼儿喂养指标问卷编制了一份结构化问卷（用英文翻译，后来翻译成阿拉伯文），以收集有关母乳喂养以及一般社会人口数据的信息。
母乳喂养的启动率为 97.3%（1559/1700 名母亲）。只有 8.3%（141 名）的母亲从未给孩子母乳喂养。在所有接受调查的母亲中，婴儿出生后 1 小时内开始母乳喂养的比例为 43.6%（742 人），而 1-24 小时内和 24 小时后开始母乳喂养的比例分别为 27%和 21%。总的来说，早期开始母乳喂养的比例（43.6%）被认为是“良好”的。区域差异显示北部地区的早期开始母乳喂养率较差，为 26%（79/300 名母亲）；中部、西部和东部地区分别为 38.4%（192/500 名母亲）、45%（135/300 名母亲）和 49%（148/300 名母亲）；南部地区为 63%（188/300 名母亲）。早期开始母乳喂养与分娩方式、母亲对早期开始的正确时间的知识、接受母乳喂养信息、居住地区和母亲的教育水平之间存在显著关联。
尽管一些母乳喂养启动的障碍在各地区表现出相似性，但一些因素是特定于背景的，因此需要有针对性的干预措施。需要采取适当的行为改变干预措施，以实现最佳的母乳喂养实践。
