PRACTICE OF BREASTFEEDING AND WEANING AMONG SAMPLE OF SAUDI MOTHERS

Background: one of the most important infant essentials is proper feeding, including adequate and sufficient breastfeeding for at least the first year of life and gradual introduction of supplementation until weaning at the age of 2 years. It does not only affect infant health and growth but also has important social impacts; therefore, implicating best methods of introduction of infant nutrition is a crucial issue and worth further social investigations. This study aims to assess the breastfeeding and child weaning perception and practice of mothers from Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Methodology: This is a cross-sectional study on 1105 mothers in Mecca City, Saudi Arabia, about breastfeeding practices, using a pretested online questionnaire that has been checked for validity before data being imported and analyzed by SPSS version 23. Results: the result demonstrates socio-demographic statuses of the participant mothers, finding out the highest percentage of mothers having at least university education (68.3%), with high occupational levels (55.9%),  and their association to feeding decisions, habits, and estimating sources of information about infant feeding principles. Conclusion: It has been found thoroughly that maternal age and educational levels affect the practice of breastfeeding. Therefore, mothers should receive more educational support regarding proper practice, which is recommended to be conducted by well-trained health care providers via a wide variety of means.