ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Children and Health
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1644659
This article is part of the Research TopicPublic Health Innovations for Enhancing Newborn and Maternal Well-BeingView all articles
Breastfeeding Practices Among Long-standing Refugees in Jordan: Insights from a Cross-sectional Study
Provisionally accepted- 1Department of Family medicine, Radiology, and Emergency Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Hashemite University, Zarqa, Jordan
- 2Faculty of Medicine, Hashemite University, Zarqa, Jordan
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Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) is a crucial public health strategy that reduces infant morbidity and mortality, yet rates remain suboptimal among refugee populations. This study examines breastfeeding practices and determinants of EBF among long-standing Palestinian refugees in Jordan through a cross-sectional survey of 249 mothers at the UNRWA Zarqa Camp Health Center. The prevalence of EBF among infants under six months was 38.2%, declining with age. Key predictors included birth order, mode of delivery, labor analgesia, and breastfeeding initiation timing. Mothers who delivered vaginally avoided analgesia, and initiated breastfeeding within the first hour had significantly higher EBF rates. Perceived insufficient milk supply was the primary reason for formula introduction. Breastfed infants experienced fewer acute illnesses, antibiotic use, and allergic conditions. Despite moderately positive maternal attitudes toward breastfeeding, fewer than half of the mothers received breastfeeding education, with no significant association between maternal knowledge and feeding methods. These findings underscore the need for interventions promoting early breastfeeding initiation, reducing unnecessary cesarean sections and analgesia, and strengthening breastfeeding education to improve EBF rates and infant health in refugee settings.
Keywords: Exclusive breastfeeding, Infant Feeding Practices, Palestinian refugees, Maternal health, breastfeeding determinants, Refugee health
Received: 17 Jun 2025; Accepted: 31 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Qasem, Al-Shdaifat, Abu-Khader, Jaraa, Alothman, Shatat and Alsaif. 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: Nuha Qasem, Department of Family medicine, Radiology, and Emergency Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Hashemite University, Zarqa, Jordan
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