Background: Breast milk protects infants against some common childhood diseases and infections. This study aimed to evaluate the mother’s knowledge and perceptions toward health education programs of breastfeeding in Hail, Saudi Arabia.
Methods: The cross-sectional study was conducted among mothers in Hail, Saudi Arabia. The study was performed using a self-administrated questionnaire. The questionnaire included sociodemographic questions about their knowledge of breastfeeding education programs.
Results: A total of 392 questionnaires were enrolled in this study. The mean age of females was 35.5 ± 7.2 years. Most of the participants (40%) were in the age group of 20-29 years. About 92.8% of women agreed that breastfeeding has a positive impact on a child’s health later in life. Satisfactory knowledge and practice were found among mothers.
Conclusion: Breastfeeding is essential women’s issue in Saudi Arabia. However, women also need to know their right to breastfeed and have sufficient information about artificial milk. Therefore, the primary findings of this study were that the mothers require educational programs to get the beneficial knowledge of breastfeeding babies and their mothers in Saudi Arabia.
Key words: Breastfeeding, Saudi Arabia, Knowledge, Education programs
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