Prevalence and Determinants of Exclusive Breastfeeding Practice among Mothers of Children Aged 6–24 Months in Hail, Saudi Arabia

Table 1

Sociodemographic, maternal, child, and health service characteristics reported by the study participants in Hail city, Saudi Arabia, 2019.

Sociodemographic characteristics of the mother	n	(%)	95% CI
Mothers’ age in years mean ± SD (range)		30.16 ± 7.48 (18–48)
<25	110	24.4	20.6–28.7
25–29	128	28.4	24.4–32.9
30–39	128	28.4	24.4–32.9
40+	84	18.7	15.2–22.6
Mothers’ education
Illiterate	26	5.8	3.9–8.5
Primary	22	4.9	3.2–7.4
Middle	60	13.3	10.4–16.9
Secondary	137	30.4	26.3–35.0
University/higher	205	45.6	40.9–50.3
Mothers’ employment status
Working	135	30.0	25.8–34.5
Housewife	269	59.8	55.1–64.3
Student	46	10.2	7.7–13.5
Family income (SR)
<3000	16	3.6	2.1–5.8
3000–4999	55	12.2	9.4–15.7
5000–9999	148	32.9	28.6–37.5
10000–14999	169	37.6	33.1–42.2
≥15000	62	13.8	10.8–17.4
Obstetric history and health service-related factors
Number of pregnancies mean ± SD (range) 3.37 ± 2.12 (1–12)
<3	67	15.2	12.0–18.9
3-4	260	58.8	54.1–63.4
≥5	115	26.0	22.0–30.4
Number of children under 5 years mean ± SD (range) 1.56 ± 0.62 (1–5)
≤1	227	50.4	45.7–55.2
≥2	223	49.6	44.8–54.3
Sex of the child
Male	293	53.1	48.4–57.8
Female	211	46.9	42.2–51.6
Birth order of the child
First born	107	23.8	20.0–28.0
Second born	106	23.6	19.8–27.8
Third and above	237	52.7	47.9–57.3
No. of antenatal visits mean ± SD (range) 3.97 ± 1.68 (1–9)
<3	75	16.7	13.4–20.5
3-4	260	57.8	53.1–62.4
5+	115	25.6	21.6–29.9
Breastfeeding counseling received during antenatal care
Yes	349	77.7	73.5–81.4
No	100	22.3	18.6–26.5
Breastfeeding counseling received immediately after delivery
Yes	358	79.9	75.8–83.5
No	90	20.1	16.5–24.2
Mode of delivery
CS	28	6.2	4.3–9.0
Vaginal delivery	421	93.8	91.0–95.7
Place of delivery
Governmental hospital	402	89.3	86.0–92.0
Private hospital	41	9.1	6.7–12.3
Postnatal follow-up during puerperium
Yes	280	62.5	57.8–67.0
No	168	37.5	33.0–42.2
Awareness and knowledge about breastfeeding
Heard about exclusive breastfeeding (yes)	362	80.4	76.4–83.9
Know the meaning of EBF (breastfeeding only)	328	72.9	68.5–76.9
Know the duration of EBF (6 months)	97	21.6	17.9–25.7
What should be done with the colostrum (should be given)	337	74.9	70.6–78.8
Breastfeeding practice of the current child
Time of initiation of breastfeeding
During 1^st hour of delivery	108	24.0	20.2–28.3
2–24 hours	212	47.1	42.4–51.8
>24 hours	122	27.1	23.1–31.5
Not breastfed at all	8	1.8	0.8–3.6
Place of initiation of breastfeeding
At the hospital	210	46.8	42.1–51.5
At home	239	53.2	48.5–57.9
Colostrum given to the newborn
Yes	345	76.8	72.6–80.6
No	104	23.2	19.4–27.4
Prelacteal feeding given to the newborn
Yes	225	50.1	45.4–54.8
No	224	49.9	45.2–54.6
Practiced exclusive breastfeeding
Yes	226	50.7	45.9–55.4
No	220	49.3	44.6–54.1