ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Pediatr.
Sec. Children and Health
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fped.2025.1465193
Association of Socio-Demographic Factors, Perinatal Characteristics, and Hospital Maternity Practices with Breastfeeding Outcomes in the UAE
Provisionally accepted
- 1Department of Health Sciences, Zayed University, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
- 2Department of Mathematics, Zayed University, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
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Breastfeeding (BF) rates remain suboptimal in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), despite global and national efforts. This study examined the association of socio-demographic factors, perinatal characteristics, and hospital maternity practices with breastfeeding outcomes in the UAE.Despite considerable efforts to increase breastfeeding (BF) globally, the rates remain suboptimal in many places, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE). BF determinants vary between countries and cultures. The aim of this study was to determine the association of socio-demographic factors, perinatal characteristics, and hospital maternity practices with breastfeeding outcomes in the UAE.In this cross-sectional study, 1815 participating mothers with children below the age of 2 answered structured questions related to socioeconomics, hospital practices, and BF. The study received ethical approval (ZU17_006_F) from Zayed University.Multivariate analysis showed that a non-Emirati nationality and vaginal birth were significantly associated with higher initiation rates (AOR=6.
Keywords: Exclusive breastfeeding, Socio-demographic determinants, Baby-Friendly hospitals, infant nutrition, United Arab Emirates
Received: 15 Jul 2024; Accepted: 04 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Taha, Ktaibi and Hijazi. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Zainab Taha, Department of Health Sciences, Zayed University, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
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