Attitude and awareness on importance of breastfeeding among childbearing women in a rapidly developing country

Authors

  • Motahareh H. Vamegh College of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
  • Rami A. Karkout Department of Clinical Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
  • Hadeel A. Shihan Department of Paediatrics, Children’s Hospital of Michigan, Michigan, United States of America
  • Mujtaba C. Kaouas Department of Clinical Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18203/2320-6012.ijrms20192522

Keywords:

Breastfeeding, Exclusive breastfeeding, Breastfeeding knowledge

Abstract

Background: Health authorities in United Arab Emirates passed a law giving all the mothers the right to breastfeed their children even during the working hours. The objective of this study is designed to explore the degree of awareness among mothers in childbearing period on breastfeeding importance and practices.

Methods: A cross sectional explorative questionnaire-based survey included 400 mothers from multi health centres in 3 emirates of United Arab Emirates as follows: Abu Dhabi 100 samples, Dubai 100 samples and Sharjah 200 samples, who were in their childbearing period and had a minimum of one child during the study period between July 2016 and November 2016.

Results: Total 54.5% of mothers were above 30 years of age. 48% were local and 52% were non-local. 80% were familiar with the advantages of breastfeeding. 84.8% believed that exclusive breastfeeding up to 6 months is important and 41% had breastfed their children exclusively. 76% had the skin-to-skin contact with their baby and 43.5% had started breastfeeding within the first hour after birth, of them, 10% had delivered by caesarean section.  82% were roaming in with their baby during hospital stay and 81% had practiced demand breastfeeding. 89.9% of mothers had received the support they needed for breastfeeding from hospital staff. 56% had not used pacifier during the hospital stay and 56% had used bottle-feeding. 55% of mothers were employed, 72% of them had the intention to continue exclusive breastfeeding for a minimum of 6-month period.

Conclusions: Attitude and awareness on breastfeeding are encouraging. Educational efforts, workshops and public awareness should be enhanced and maximized.

References

World Health Organization. Breastfeeding. Available at: https://www.who.int/nutrition/topics/exclusive_breastfeeding/en/. Accessed 20 March 2017.

UAE Labour Law. Article 31, 2007. Available at: http://www.moid.gov.ae/Laws/UAE_Labour_Law.pdf . Accessed 20 March 2017.

Arts M, Taqi I, Bégin F. Improving the early initiation of breastfeeding: The WHO-UNICEF Breastfeeding Advocacy Initiative. Breastfeeding Med. 2017;12(6):326-7.

Rowe‐Murray HJ, Fisher JR. Baby friendly hospital practices: cesarean section is a persistent barrier to early initiation of breastfeeding. Birth. 2002 Jun;29(2):124-31.

Brand E, Kothari C, Stark MA. Factors related to breastfeeding discontinuation between hospital discharge and 2 weeks postpartum. J Perinatal Education. 2011 Jan 1;20(1):36-44.

Gatti L. Maternal perceptions of insufficient milk supply in breastfeeding. Journal of nursing scholarship : an official publication of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursin. 2008;40(4):355-63.

Dagher RK, McGovern PM, Schold JD, Randall XJ. Determinants of breastfeeding initiation and cessation among employed mothers: a prospective cohort study. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2016 Dec;16(1):194.

Dowling S. Brown A. An Exploration of the Experiences of Mothers Who Breastfeed Long-Term: What Are the Issues and Why Does It Matter?. Breastfeeding Med. 2013;8(1):45-52.

Zubaran C, Foresti K. Correlation between breastfeeding and maternal health status. Einstein (Sao Paulo, Brazil), 2013;11(2):180-5.

Nabulsi M, Hamadeh H, Tamim H, Kabakian T, Charafeddine L, Yehya N, et al. A complex breastfeeding promotion and support intervention in a developing country: study protocol for a randomized clinical trial. BMC Public Health. 2014 Dec;14(1):36.

Downloads

Published

2019-05-29

How to Cite

Vamegh, M. H., Karkout, R. A., Shihan, H. A., & Kaouas, M. C. (2019). Attitude and awareness on importance of breastfeeding among childbearing women in a rapidly developing country. International Journal of Research in Medical Sciences, 7(6), 2328–2332. https://doi.org/10.18203/2320-6012.ijrms20192522

Issue

Section

Original Research Articles