Breastfeeding Practices and Associated Factors among Immigrant Muslim Arab Women Living in a Metropolitan Area of the Southwest of United States.

Abstract

Background: Muslim Arab immigrants are a fast-growing, under-studied, and underserved minority population in the United States. Little is known about breastfeeding practices in this population.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to describe infant feeding practices and factors associated with these practices among immigrant Muslim Arab women.

Design: A nonexperimental-one group, cross-sectional, descriptive, prospective design was used to identify infant feeding practices among immigrant Muslim Arab women.

Methods: A convenience sample of one hundred sixteen immigrant Muslim Arab women with at least one child five years or younger was recruited from a large metropolitan area in the Southwestern region. Participants completed the social ecological model of health promotion self-reported questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were performed to identify infant feeding practices and logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with these practices.

Results: Immigrant Muslim Arab mothers demonstrate high breastfeeding initiation rates (99.2%) and lengthy breastfeeding duration (M = 11.86, SD = 8.04), but low rates of exclusive breastfeeding at six months (21.6%). The most frequent reasons for early termination of breastfeeding were perceived insufficient milk (44.4%), child was still hungry after breastfeeding (37.5%), and the belief that the child was old enough to stop breastfeeding (32.9%).

Conclusion: Development of educational interventions are needed to improve breastfeeding exclusivity and raise women's awareness of the importance of exclusive breastfeeding. Healthcare providers should help women gain confidence in their ability to produce enough milk to successfully continue breastfeeding.