Abstract

THE EFFECT OF MATERNAL AGE, EDUCATIONAL LEVEL, NUMBER OF CHILDREN AND OTHER FACTORS ON BREASTFEEDING PRACTICE AMONG SAUDI WOMEN IN RAFHA REGION. A CROSS SECTIONAL DESCRIPTIVE STUDY

*Heba Hamed Salem, Abdulkhaliq Jasem Alsalman, Bshair Khamis El-Shimary, Noaf Matar El-Shimary,

ABSTRACT

The aim of the present study is to assess the effect of maternal age, educational level, employment, number of children, and other factors on breastfeeding practice among Saudi Arabia mothers in Rafha region. For this purpose, one hundred Saudi women who gave birth to a child -or more-, whether by vaginal or cesarean section from Rafha General Hospital were selected to conduct a Cross Sectional- Descriptive study. This study has shown that the mothers who had early initiation of breastfeeding represent (70%), while who had used a bottle or any replacement product of natural milk represent (30%). It was concluded from this study that the breastfeeding practice was affected by the maternal age, Educational level, Employment, Number of children and Mode of transmission. As mothers who have age of less than 35 years, high educational level, large number of children and vaginal delivery were significantly (P<0.05) associated with higher breastfeeding practice rate, while employed mothers of age more than 35 years who had caesarian section show decrease in the rate of breastfeeding practice. Moreover, gender of baby shows no effect on breastfeeding practice in this study. We tried to encourage our participants to practice breastfeeding. Furthermore, this study provides us with clear idea about different factors that affect the breastfeeding for current evaluation and future implementation of programs aiming toward achieving a higher breastfeeding practicing level among Saudi mothers.

Keywords: Breastfeeding, Children, Maternal Age, Rafha region.