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Patterns of breastfeeding and weaning in Saudi Arabia
F Serenius1, A R Swailem, A W Edressee
1Department of Pediatrics, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Insights
Saudi children
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Public Health
- Nutrition
Background:
- Breastfeeding and weaning practices are crucial for infant health.
- Socioeconomic and geographic factors significantly influence infant feeding patterns.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate breastfeeding and weaning trends in Saudi children across different socioeconomic and geographic groups.
- To analyze the impact of maternal age on breastfeeding duration.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective and current data collection from four distinct Saudi child populations.
- Life table technique employed for analyzing breastfeeding and weaning data.
Main Results:
- Median breastfeeding duration varied significantly: rural (17.8 months), urban low (10.8 months), urban average (7.5 months), and urban privileged (2.1 months).
- Younger mothers exhibited shorter breastfeeding durations compared to older mothers across all groups.
- Bottle-feeding initiation was earlier in privileged and urban low children, while rural children were introduced to solids much later.
Conclusions:
- Breastfeeding duration decreases with increasing socioeconomic affluence in Saudi Arabia.
- Delayed introduction of solid foods is common among rural Saudi children.
- Maternal age is a significant factor influencing breastfeeding duration across different populations.
Abstract:
The patterns of breastfeeding and weaning were studied in 4 groups of Saudi children: Privileged urban children; children representing the average urban population; less privileged urban children, and rural children from 3 different areas. The data represented retrospective and actual information and were analyzed according to the life table technique. The median duration of breastfeeding of rural, urban low, urban average and urban privileged children was 17.8 months, 10.8 months, 7.5 months and 2.1 months, respectively. In all groups the rate of breastfeeding was lower in young compared with old mothers. Thus the median duration of breastfeeding was 11.7 months for rural mothers less than 23 years and 23.6 months for mothers greater than 31 years. Corresponding figures for urban low mothers were 3.4 months and 11.4 months, respectively. By one month 52 percent of privileged and 42 percent of urban low children were started on bottle. By contrast, 26 percent of rural children were started on bottle at 6 months. At 6 months, 6 percent of rural children were started on any kind of solid foods compared with 90 percent of privileged children; at 12 months the figures were 33 and 96 percent, respectively. The data indicated a successive decline in the duration of breastfeeding with increasing affluence, and late introduction of weaning foods to rural children.