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Breast feeding patterns and practices among children below two years of age in a rural area of Basrah

1. Department of Community Medicine/ College of Medicine, University of Basrah, Iraq *Corresponding author: amall.yousif@gmail.com (Al-Mulla) Abstract: Background: Breastfeeding has been known as the most suitable and beneficial nutrient for the infants, it served and continues to serve as an appropriate method through which newborns are offered essential nutrients necessary for optimal growth and intellectual development. Objectives: To investigate breast feeding practice pattern in rural area in Basrah . This descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out in Shatt al-Arab sector, a rural area named “NaharHassan” for the period from the first of February till the 10 th of April 2016.The study including children below two years of age selected by household survey. The studied sample included 384 children below two years selected randomly for mothers who breast fed their baby. Result: Exclusive breastfeeding practice is very popular among women in a rural area, and itrepresents 57.3%, and less than half of the infants were given fluidsother than breast milk before age of six months, and the main causes of it were child's illness, and mother’s satisfaction. No significant association was detected between occupations of motherand breastfeeding practices. The most common causes of non EBF reported in this study wasunsaturation of infants, and inadequate breast milk. Type of child birth was significantly affect the type of infant feeding, the majority of women whom delivered by normal vaginal delivery were practicing breastfeeding exclusively 63.5%, compared with 39.4% ofthose with caesarean section delivery. Conclusion: Women in a rural area of Basrah followed WHO recommendation for exclusive breastfeeding of infants in the first six months of their life.