Abstract

Background: Parents’ knowledge and attitudes toward infant care are fundamental in terms of child development. Thereby, this study aimed to assess knowledge of infant care among mothers in the central and eastern regions in Saudi Arabia.
Methodology: An observational descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 367 mothers via questionnaire by convenient sampling method in the central and eastern region in Saudi Arabia.
Results: Most participants (92%) had never missed vaccine doses; however, 92% of the participants believed that missing vaccine dose almost had no negative impact on infants. Almost half of the participants used both modes of feeding. Most participants (73%) introduced solid food to their babies during 4-8 months. The proportion of babies who were taken to the emergency for swallowing a foreign body was higher in families with a working mother, while the occurrence of a baby falling or being burnt was higher with a non-working mother.
Conclusion: Although the majority of the participants had a good practice regarding infant care, there are still some gaps in maternal knowledge as well as non-compliance of vaccination. Also, it was revealed that nannies could not replace mothers. There was no statistical relationship between missed doses and mothers’ level of education.

Key words: Knowledge, attitude, mothers, infant care, central, eastern, Saudi Arabia