Predictors of Continued Breastfeeding at One Year among Women Attending Primary Healthcare Centers in Qatar: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

The number of babies in Qatar being exclusively breastfed is significantly lower than the global target set by the World Health Organization. The purpose of this study was to assess knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP), selected barriers, and professional support as well as their association with continued breastfeeding at one year of age. A sample of Qatari and non-Qatari mothers (N = 195) who attended a well-baby clinic held at primary health care centers in Qatar completed a self-administered questionnaire. Descriptive analysis, the Pearson Chi-squared test, and logistic regression were performed. Around 42% of the mothers stopped breastfeeding when their child was aged between 0 and 11 months old. Mothers who had only one or female child stopped breastfeeding between the ages of 0 and 6 months (p = 0.025, 0.059). The more optimal the breastfeeding practices followed by the mothers, the older the age of the infant when they stopped breastfeeding (p = 0.001). The following factors were inversely associated with breastfeeding duration: the mother’s perceptions that she “did not know how to breastfeed,” or “wasn’t making enough milk,” and the need “to return to work/school”, with p = 0.022, 0.004, and 0.022, respectively. These findings present factors that should be considered when planning for health education and promotion programs to prolong breastfeeding duration in Qatar.