Overview on breastfeeding patterns in Saudi Arabia.

A national cross-sectional study was carried out in 1991 to investigate child feeding patterns in addition to other MCH issues. The target population was the last live birth born within 5 years preceding the data of the interview. The data were collected by interviewing the mothers of the eligible children using a precoded questionnaire. The total sample size was 3608 children and their mothers were chosen randomly through a multistage cluster sampling technique with representation of different regions. The results observed revealed a previous history of breastfeeding among 92.4 and 94.5 per cent of urban and rural studied children, respectively. The mean duration of breastfeeding among studied children in the urban and rural communities, were 11 and 13 months, respectively. Illiteracy of the parents was associated with a longer breastfeeding duration. Moreover, the results revealed that, the higher the current age of mothers, the longer the average duration of breastfeeding. Governmental health facilities and mass media constituted the main source of essential information about child feeding. The results are further interpreted and suitable recommendations are made.