Mothers' Attitudes toward Breastfeeding and Their Association with Infants' Characteristics (original) (raw)

Breastfeeding promotes optimal growth and development for infant and children. So this study aims to assess mother's breastfeeding attitudes and identify to their association with infants' characteristics. Descriptive cross-sectional design was used. The study was conducted in breastfeeding clinic at Dr. Soliman Fakeeh Hospital (DSFH) in Jeddah city, Saudi Arabia. A convenient sample of the Saudi mothers (276) who were accepted to participate in the study. The mothers 'age was 18 years and above, their infant's age were less than 12 months, Two tools were used to collect data. The first tool: The mother's and infant's demographic characteristics: Mothers' data (age, education level, and husband educational level, occupation status for mothers and their husbands, family income, previous training regarding breastfeeding. Infant's characteristics (gender, birth weight, gestational age, health status, if they admitted to NICU, child order, if the mother planned for pregnancy of this infant and delivery type and using of pacifier). The second tool is the modified Iowa Infant Feeding Attitude Scale (IIFAS) was used to measure mothers' attitudes to breastfeeding. It consists of 21 items with a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 5 (strongly agree) to 1 (strongly disagree). A higher score achieved on IIFAS indicates a more positive attitude toward breastfeeding. The Results showed that: Mothers were more positive attitudes toward breastfeeding (81.39 ± 8.35). There was a significant relationship between mother's attitude with their family income (P=0.027), occupation status (P=0.015), and previous experiences with breastfeeding (P=0.043). While there was no a significant relationship between mother's attitude with their age, education level, marital status, and their husband education and occupation. No significant association between the baby gender, gestational age, and current baby weight admission to NICU, baby order, planning pregnancy and type of delivery and mother's attitude toward breastfeeding. Only one variable was significantly associated with the attitudes toward breastfeeding, this variable was infant health status (p= 0.008).The researcher recommend to apply Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) in all hospitals. A future longitudinal study to follow infant's development in the first year; considering influences and factors that affect it alongside.