Abstract:

Department of Health (DOH) the regulator of Abu Dhabi region in UAE launched its Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) on March 21, 2016. Despite this drive for last 3 years, there has been no noticeable changes or initiatives in private health sector. There are different factors that affect the breastfeeding behaviors that may result in sluggish response from private healthcare sector. The purpose of this article is to analyze the impact of knowledge and factors that modulates knowledge among breastfeeding mothers of Abu Dhabi. A mixed methods research design with a survey-based questionnaire was used to guide this research. Knowledge impacts breastfeeding practices (P=0.001) and is influenced by maternal age, educational preparedness, employer, employment, salaries and number of children. The sluggish progress of BFHI initiatives in Abu Dhabi is related to factors outside of the health system. Mothers are often faced with competing personal and professional decisions. This compels most mothers to adopt mixed feeding methodologies.

Keywords: breastfeeding, knowledge, breastfeeding knowledge, breastfeeding factors, breastfeeding practices.

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