Al Sabbah Haleama, Assaf Enas A, Taha Zainab, Qasrawi Radwan, Radwan Hadia
Department of Health Sciences, Zayed University, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Department of Community Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Applied Science Private University, Amman, Jordan.
Front Nutr. 2022 May 10;9:872217. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2022.872217. eCollection 2022.
Breastfeeding (BF) is considered the ultimate method of infant feeding for at least the first 6 months of life. Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) is one of the most effective interventions to improve child survival. The main objective of this study was to assess the prevalence and duration of exclusive breastfeeding and the associated factors among women in Dubai and Sharjah, UAE.
A cross-sectional study was conducted in four hospitals and four healthcare centers in Dubai and Sharjah between September 2017 and December 2017. Hospitals and centers are governmental and provide maternal and child health services. A convenience sample of 858 Arab and Emirati mothers with children under the age of 2 years participated in the study. Face-to-face interviews were conducted by using structured questionnaires. The study was approved by the University Ethical Committee and the UAE Ministry of Health before data collection. Descriptive statistics were computed to describe all the questionnaire items. The chi-square test was used to compare the study's categorical variables. A binary logistic regression analysis was used to predict the relationship between BF and its associated factors. Statistical tests with -values < 0.05 were considered statistically significant.
The mean age of the participating mothers was 30.6 (SD 5.5) years. Results showed that the prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding among the study participants was 24.4% (31.1% in Sharjah and 22% in Dubai; = 0.003). The binary logistic regression reported that mother's and father's education, skin-to-skin period, number of children, mothers' health, and place of living were significantly associated with exclusive breastfeeding ( < 0.05). The results reported a significant association between EB and duration of breastfeeding (OR = 6.9, = 0.002), husband education (OR = 2.1, = 0.015), mother education (OR = 1.3, = 0.027), number of children (OR = 7.9, = 0.045), having any health problem (OR = 1.2, = 0.045), and living place (OR = 1.4, = 0.033), and a non-significant positive effect of family size and family income. Furthermore, the result reported a significant association between mixed breastfeeding and duration of breastfeeding (OR = 0.1, = 0.000), skin-to-skin period (OR = 0.3, = 0.002), underweight (OR = 4.7, = 0.034), last infant's sex (OR = 1.6, = 0.010), having maid at home (OR = 2.1, = 0.000), number of children (OR = 0.2, = 0.013), and living place (OR =1.1, = 0.014), and a non-significant association with family size and family income.
Therefore, a health promotion program for exclusive breastfeeding during antenatal health visits, together with initiating health policies in maternal hospitals to encourage the initiation of breastfeeding during the first hour of birth and the introduction of skin-to-skin contact during the first 5 min of birth are highly recommended.
母乳喂养被认为是婴儿至少在出生后头6个月的最佳喂养方式。纯母乳喂养是改善儿童生存状况最有效的干预措施之一。本研究的主要目的是评估阿联酋迪拜和沙迦地区女性纯母乳喂养的普及率、持续时间及其相关因素。
2017年9月至2017年12月期间，在迪拜和沙迦的四家医院和四个医疗中心开展了一项横断面研究。这些医院和中心均为政府机构，提供母婴健康服务。选取了858名有2岁以下子女的阿拉伯和阿联酋母亲作为便利样本参与研究。通过结构化问卷进行面对面访谈。在数据收集之前，该研究获得了大学伦理委员会和阿联酋卫生部的批准。计算描述性统计量以描述所有问卷项目。采用卡方检验比较研究中的分类变量。使用二元逻辑回归分析来预测母乳喂养与其相关因素之间的关系。p值<0.05的统计检验被认为具有统计学意义。
参与研究的母亲平均年龄为30.6（标准差5.5）岁。结果显示，研究参与者中纯母乳喂养的普及率为24.4%（沙迦为31.1%，迪拜为22%；p = 0.003）。二元逻辑回归分析表明，母亲和父亲的教育程度、肌肤接触时长、子女数量、母亲健康状况和居住地点与纯母乳喂养显著相关（p < 0.05）。结果表明，纯母乳喂养与母乳喂养持续时间（比值比=6.9，p = 0.002）、丈夫教育程度（比值比=2.1，p = 0.015）、母亲教育程度（比值比=1.3，p = 0.027）、子女数量（比值比=7.9，p = 0.045）、有任何健康问题（比值比=1.2，p = 0.045）以及居住地点（比值比=1.4，p = 0.033）之间存在显著关联，家庭规模和家庭收入有不显著的正向影响。此外，结果表明混合喂养与母乳喂养持续时间（比值比=0.1，p = 0.000）、肌肤接触时长（比值比=0.3，p = 0.002）、体重过轻（比值比=4.7，p = 0.034）、最后一个婴儿的性别（比值比=1.6，p = 0.010）、家中有佣人（比值比=2.1，p = 0.000）、子女数量（比值比=0.2，p = 0.013）以及居住地点（比值比=1.1，p = 0.014）之间存在显著关联，与家庭规模和家庭收入无显著关联。
因此，强烈建议在产前健康检查期间开展促进纯母乳喂养的健康促进项目，同时在妇产医院制定健康政策，鼓励在出生后第一小时开始母乳喂养，并在出生后5分钟内进行肌肤接触。
