Breastfeeding practice among healthcare working mothers in Arar city, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Breastfeeding a baby exclusively for six months after birth has numerous health benefits for both the child and the mother. To evaluate the practises and barriers to breast feeding among HCW mothers in Arar. A cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out at all Ministry of Health (MOH) healthcare facilities in Arar city from January to March 2020. Personal interviews with recruited breastfed mothers were conducted using a pre-designed questionnaire that covered socio-demographic information, reproductive history, work conditions, and current breastfeeding practices. There were 220 women in the study. Their ages ranged from 20 to 42 years old, with a mean SD of 303.6 years. Nurses account for 58.6 % of them. Overall, 73.2 % of participants had breastfed their previous child, and 27.9 % of those who started breastfeeding stopped feeding their infants by the age of two months. The most common reported reasons for breastfeeding abstinence among participants were being too busy at work (27.1%) and having insufficient breast milk (23.7 %). Breastfeeding was more common among non-Saudi mothers than among Saudi mothers (95 %t versus 71 %), p=0.013. The vast majority of participants (98.2 % ) reported a history of providing supplementary feeding to infants before the age of 6 months, while only 1.8 % reported exclusive breastfeeding; formula milk was the most commonly given supplementary feeding (58.2%), followed by fluids (20.5%) and foods (18.6%). Conclusion: Breastfeeding was practised sufficiently by mothers working in the healthcare field in Arar, Saudi Arabia. However, only a small percentage of them practiced exclusive breast feeding. Being too busy at work was the most frequently reported reason for breastfeeding abstinence among participants.

Keywords:

Breastfeeding, practices, healthcare, working mothers.