Abstract
Background: Breastfeeding has countless benefits for the mother and infant as well as society.
Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the level of knowledge, attitude and practices of breast-feeding with its determinants among mothers in Taif city.
Methods: A cross sectional study was done on Saudi mothers who attended the obstetrics and gynaecology clinics in Taif city. An electronic questionnaire was used for data collection. It included 4 parts seeking demographic information, knowledge, attitude and practice toward breastfeeding.
Results: The study included 384 women; their mean age was 34.7 +/- 8.1 years, and their children aged between 1- 6 years with a mean age of 2.6 +/- 1.2 years. About 26% of the participants had a very good level of knowledge regarding breast feeding whereas 15.6% had a poor level of knowledge. Most of the participants (77.1%) had health education about breast feeding. Slightly more than half of the participants (52.3%) had a positive attitude towards breastfeeding and almost two-thirds (64.1%) of the participants had breast fed their infants up to 6 months of age. The majority of them (76%) started breastfeeding in the first day after birth.
Conclusion: The level of knowledge about breast-feeding in this sample was moderate and slightly more than half of them had a positive attitude towards breastfeeding. The main source of health education about breastfeeding in our sample was from the doctors.