Breastfeeding patterns in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates

The rate of breastfeeding initiation and continuation through the first 6 months of life were assessed via interview and telephone follow-up in a prospective study of 130 mothers who consecutively delivered in hospital in Fujairah, UAE. The rate of initiation (83.2 per cent) and continuation at 2 months (72.6 per cent) was not significantly different from earlier studies. However, the rate of breastfeeding at 6 months (46.9 per cent) was lower than a 1992 study (p = 0.02). There were no significant associated factors with not breastfeeding at discharge from the maternity hospital and 2 months later. However, a significant inverse relationship with the level of general education of the mother for breastfeeding at 6 months was found, which is in contradistinction to Western countries where the rate of breastfeeding rises with increasing general education. This has implications for the type and targeting of future breastfeeding education programmes.