Aledreesi Thamer M, Omar Ohoud
Health Informatics, King Abdulaziz Medical City, Riyadh, SAU.
Health Informatics, King Abdullah International Medical Research Center, Riyadh, SAU.
Cureus. 2022 Dec 21;14(12):e32790. doi: 10.7759/cureus.32790. eCollection 2022 Dec.
Breastfeeding is crucial for an infant's health and plays a significant role in mothers' well-being. The recommendation from WHO is to breastfeed your baby for the first six months exclusively, then complementary food is introduced with the continuity of breastfeeding until 24 months or more. Breastfeeding can be challenging, especially for a first-time mom; some mothers also lack knowledge about breastfeeding benefits. Thus, mobile health (mHealth) intervention can raise awareness, provide educational information and emotional support, and offer consultation. Saudi mothers seek an application designed based on their needs.
The objective of this study was to analyze the most common breastfeeding application, then extract standard and valuable features. The most useful features were added to the survey and distributed among Saudi mothers. Next, participants' responses to these features were evaluated for recommendation when building a breastfeeding application for Saudi mothers.
This is a quantitative cross-sectional study designed to analyze and explore what Saudi women need in a breastfeeding application to help them make better decisions and provide support. The data was collected through a questionnaire instrument designed after collecting the most valuable features in mobile breastfeeding applications.
The number of Saudi mothers enrolled in this study was 492. Most mothers (90%) were currently breastfeeding or had previous experience with breastfeeding. The participant responses divided results into three categories: essential, recommended, and nice-to-be-added features. One of the highest percentages of important features was adding a section for baby food recipes and how to introduce food.
Saudi mothers need a trustable source of information, consultation, support, and tools to guide them through breastfeeding. With the help of the mHealth application, the breastfeeding experience can be improved.
母乳喂养对婴儿健康至关重要，对母亲的幸福也起着重要作用。世界卫生组织的建议是，在婴儿出生后的前六个月进行纯母乳喂养，然后在持续母乳喂养的同时引入辅食，直至24个月或更长时间。母乳喂养可能具有挑战性，尤其是对于初为人母的女性而言；一些母亲也缺乏关于母乳喂养益处的知识。因此，移动健康（mHealth）干预可以提高认识、提供教育信息和情感支持，并提供咨询服务。沙特母亲们寻求一款根据她们的需求设计的应用程序。
本研究的目的是分析最常见的母乳喂养应用程序，然后提取标准且有价值的功能特性。将最有用的功能特性添加到调查问卷中，并分发给沙特母亲们。接下来，在为沙特母亲开发母乳喂养应用程序时，评估参与者对这些功能特性的反馈意见，以便做出推荐。
这是一项定量横断面研究，旨在分析和探索沙特女性在母乳喂养应用程序中需要什么，以帮助她们做出更好的决策并提供支持。数据通过一份调查问卷收集，该问卷是在收集了移动母乳喂养应用程序中最有价值的功能特性后设计的。
参与本研究的沙特母亲有492人。大多数母亲（90%）目前正在进行母乳喂养或有过母乳喂养经历。参与者的反馈将结果分为三类：基本功能、推荐功能和可添加功能。重要功能中占比最高的一项是添加婴儿食品食谱及如何引入食物的板块。
沙特母亲们需要一个可靠的信息来源、咨询服务、支持以及工具，以指导她们进行母乳喂养。借助移动健康应用程序，可以改善母乳喂养体验。
