Abstract
Background: Breastfeeding is the ideal way of providing young infants with nutrients they need for healthy growth and development.
Objectives: To study the knowledge, attitude and practice regarding breastfeeding and to determine barriers of breastfeeding in Sudair and Zulfy areas
Materials and Methods: A non-experimental ,cross-sectional design was used to collect data . It included all mothers, who have a child aged 0-24 months, attending primary health care centers within Sudair and Zulfy areas. An Arabic validated questionnaire was used for data collection. It comprises four parts as follows: sociodemographic data, knowledge, attitude and practice toward breastfeeding.
Results: A total of 306 women, with children aged 0-24 months, from PHCC in Sudair and Zulfy areas. Most of the participants were from Majmaah area (50.7%). Majority of them were between 28-38 years (57.2%). Most of them were Saudi (91.8%) and University or higher graduated (63.1%). overall mothers breastfeeding knowledge was excellent among than majority of them (80.72%). Positive attitude towards breastfeeding was reported among (63.49%) of the participants while negative attitude was reported among more than onethird of them (36.51%). Breastfeeding in the first 6 months was practiced by (93.1%) of the participated mothers. Of them, only (19.3%) practiced exclusive breast feeding. the most common perceived barriers cited by the mothers was the perception of insufficient milk production (53.3%).
Conclusion: The knowledge of the exclusive breastfeeding in our study was better than the other studies in Saudi Arabia. The perception of insufficient milk production was the leading reason that mothers reported for their decision to stop breastfeeding.