Peer-reviewed article
Determinants of infants and young children feeding practices among mothers living in Saudi Arabia: a cross-sectional study
Fatimah Alsada, Tunny Sebastian, Zainab Alzayer, Hawraa Alabbas, N S Al-Haddad et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examined infant and young child feeding practices among 395 mothers in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province with children aged 6-24 months. Only 25% of mothers breastfed within the first hour or exclusively breastfed for six months, falling short of WHO guidelines. Socioeconomic factors, maternal education, family structure, and birth circumstances significantly influenced feeding practices, with low-income and less educated mothers showing poorest compliance with recommended practices.
Key points
- Only 25% of mothers initiated breastfeeding within the first hour and only 25% exclusively breastfed for six months
- Middle-income mothers were less likely to exclusively breastfeed than high-income mothers (OR=0.32)
- Mothers without domestic help and those not living with husbands were significantly less likely to exclusively breastfeed (OR=3.0 and OR=2.1 respectively)
- Multiparous mothers and those with higher education were more likely to breastfeed (OR=2.3 and OR=4.4)
- 55% of mothers reported poor complementary feeding practices, primarily due to inappropriate timing, choking hazards, and delayed introduction of family meals
Limitations
This is a cross-sectional study in one province of Saudi Arabia, so findings may not be generalizable to other regions or populations. The study describes associations but cannot establish causation or determine whether reported practices match actual feeding behaviours.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The WHO sets evidence-based guidelines for infant feeding. Adhering to the WHO guidelines ensures that infants receive the proper nutrition and thus is associated with healthy growth and development. AIM: To describe breastfeeding and complementary feeding practices (CFPs) for infants and young children and identify determinants of appropriate feeding practices. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was performed via structured interviews with mothers living in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province who had children aged 6-24 months. To evaluate their adherence to the recommended WHO practices, a scoring method was applied (0-9). RESULTS: 395 mothers were interviewed. The rate of breastfeeding within the first hour, and exclusively breastfeeding for six months was both 25%. Multivariate analysis showed that exclusive breastfeeding for at least six months was less likely in middle-income mothers were less likely to exclusively breastfeed for six months than high-income mothers (OR = 0.32; 95% CI: 0.18-0.57; p < 0.001). Mothers without domestic help were also less likely to exclusively breastfeed (OR = 3.0; p < 0.001), as were those not living with their husbands (OR = 2.1; p = 0.007). Multiparous mothers and those with higher education were more likely to breastfeed than high school graduates (OR = 2.3, p = 0.02; OR = 4.4, p = 0.015, respectively). Timely breastfeeding initiation within the first hour was more common in term infants than preterm infants (OR = 5.3; p = 0.033), and infants born through normal delivery were four times more likely to initiate breastfeeding early (OR = 4.0; p < 0.001). For CFPs, 42% of participants introduced solid food at six months. 55% of mothers reported poor CFPs, primarily due to inappropriate timing of solid food introduction, choking hazards, and delayed introduction of family meals. Good CFPs were positively associated with higher maternal education, increased income, and living with a husband. CONCLUSION: Partial compliance with WHO CFP standards need improvement. Interventions should raise awareness of factors leading to poor compliance and support early breastfeeding initiation and continuation. Low-income and less educated families appear to be most in need of support.