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Research ArticleOriginal Article
Open Access

Patterns of breastfeeding practice during the first 6 months of life in Saudi Arabia

Fouzia A. Al-Hreashy, Hani M. Tamim, Nadia Al-Baz, Nora H. Al-Kharji, Abeer Al-Amer, Haifa Al-Ajmi and Alaa A. Eldemerdash
Saudi Medical Journal March 2008, 29 (3) 427-431;
Fouzia A. Al-Hreashy
Department of Family Medicine, King Abdul-Aziz Medical City, PO Box 22490, Riyadh 11426, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Fax. +966 (1) 2520088 Ext. 46580. E-mail: [email protected]
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Hani M. Tamim
Department of Family Medicine, King Abdul-Aziz Medical City, PO Box 22490, Riyadh 11426, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Fax. +966 (1) 2520088 Ext. 46580. E-mail: [email protected]
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Nadia Al-Baz
Department of Family Medicine, King Abdul-Aziz Medical City, PO Box 22490, Riyadh 11426, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Fax. +966 (1) 2520088 Ext. 46580. E-mail: [email protected]
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Nora H. Al-Kharji
Department of Family Medicine, King Abdul-Aziz Medical City, PO Box 22490, Riyadh 11426, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Fax. +966 (1) 2520088 Ext. 46580. E-mail: [email protected]
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Abeer Al-Amer
Department of Family Medicine, King Abdul-Aziz Medical City, PO Box 22490, Riyadh 11426, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Fax. +966 (1) 2520088 Ext. 46580. E-mail: [email protected]
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Haifa Al-Ajmi
Department of Family Medicine, King Abdul-Aziz Medical City, PO Box 22490, Riyadh 11426, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Fax. +966 (1) 2520088 Ext. 46580. E-mail: [email protected]
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Alaa A. Eldemerdash
Department of Family Medicine, King Abdul-Aziz Medical City, PO Box 22490, Riyadh 11426, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Fax. +966 (1) 2520088 Ext. 46580. E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To assess the breastfeeding practices in the first 6 months of infants at King Abdulaziz Medical City KAMC, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out at KAMC in 2005. Infants who attended the primary care centers and well-baby clinic of the hospital for the 6-month's vaccine were included. Mothers were interviewed to collect information on the mothers, infants, and their breastfeeding practice. World Health Organization definitions were used for classification of infant nutrition patterns.

RESULTS: Five hundred seventy eight infants were included in this study. The breastfeeding initiation among the sample was 95%. Most mothers supplemented the infants with milk formula 83.4% or fluids 94% during the first 6 months. The percent of exclusive breastfeeding was 1.7% and the partial breastfeeding breast milk with formula was the most common type of feeding 78.8%. Lactation duration dropped to 50% at 6 months of age. Factors favoring the milk formula use were introduction of the formula in the first day of life and maternal reasons of inadequate milk. Lactation duration and formula introduction were found to be significantly associated with mothers' parity, working status, and combined contraceptive pill use.

CONCLUSION: Prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding was extremely low in our population. Partial breastfeeding was the trend for feeding in the first 6 months of life, which was accompanied with rapid decline in lactation duration.

  • Copyright: © Saudi Medical Journal

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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Saudi Medical Journal: 29 (3)
Saudi Medical Journal
Vol. 29, Issue 3
1 Mar 2008
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Patterns of breastfeeding practice during the first 6 months of life in Saudi Arabia
Fouzia A. Al-Hreashy, Hani M. Tamim, Nadia Al-Baz, Nora H. Al-Kharji, Abeer Al-Amer, Haifa Al-Ajmi, Alaa A. Eldemerdash
Saudi Medical Journal Mar 2008, 29 (3) 427-431;

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Patterns of breastfeeding practice during the first 6 months of life in Saudi Arabia
Fouzia A. Al-Hreashy, Hani M. Tamim, Nadia Al-Baz, Nora H. Al-Kharji, Abeer Al-Amer, Haifa Al-Ajmi, Alaa A. Eldemerdash
Saudi Medical Journal Mar 2008, 29 (3) 427-431;
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© 2025 Saudi Medical Journal Saudi Medical Journal is copyright under the Berne Convention and the International Copyright Convention.  Saudi Medical Journal is an Open Access journal and articles published are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License (CC BY-NC). Readers may copy, distribute, and display the work for non-commercial purposes with the proper citation of the original work. Electronic ISSN 1658-3175. Print ISSN 0379-5284.

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