Are Saudi female college students prepared for successful breastfeeding?

Abstract

A cross-sectional study was carried out on a sample of 285 female students from the Science and Arts tracks of the Dammam College for Girls in Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. A self-administered questionnaire was answered by the girls to determine whether Saudi female college students were prepared for successful breastfeeding, and to assess their knowledge about relevant aspects of breastfeeding. The questionnaire contained questions about time of first feed, frequency of breastfeeding, duration of a feed and duration of breastfeeding. Correct answers were made by 38%, 33%, 35% and 59% of the students respectively. Those with a high knowledge score who would breastfeed in the future were significantly more than those with a lower knowledge score (p < 0.001). When the knowledge score and seven other variables were entered into a logistic regression model, knowledge was found to be the only significant predicting factor for the decision to breastfeed in the future. The study showed that the attitude of young Saudi women is favourable towards breastfeeding. However, they do not seem to be prepared to breastfeed so successfully. Knowledge was the only predictory factor for the decision to breastfeed in the future. An educational programme may increase the prevalence of breastfeeding in this community.