Al Sabbah, HaleamaAssaf, Enas A.Taha, ZainabQasrawi, RadwanRadwan, Hadia2022-04-182022-04-182022Al Sabbah, H., Assaf, E. A., Taha, Z., Qasrawi, R., Radwan, H. (2022). Determinants of exclusive breastfeeding and mixed feeding among mothers of infants in Dubai and Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. Nutrition and Sustainable Diets.https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12713/2642Background: Breastfeeding (BF) is considered the ultimate method of infant feeding for at least the first six months of life. The main objective of this study was to assess the prevalence and duration of exclusive breastfeeding and the associated factors among women in Dubai and Sharjah, UAE. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in four hospitals and four healthcare centers in Dubai and Sharjah between September 2017 and December 2017. Hospitals and centers are governmental, and provide maternal and child health services. A convenience sample of 858 Arab and Emirati mothers for children under the age of 2 years participated in the study. Face-to-face interviews were conducted by using structured questionnaires. The study was approved by the University Ethical Committee and UAE Ministry of Health prior to data collection. Descriptive statistics were computed to describe all the questionnaire items. Chi-square test was used to compare between the study categorical variables. A binary logistic regression analysis was used to predict the relationship between BF and its associated factors. Statistical tests with p- values < 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results: The mean age of the participating mothers was 30.6 (SD 5.5) years. Results showed that the prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding among the study participants was 24.4% (31.1 in Sharjah and 22% in Dubai) (p =.003). The binary logistic regression reported that mother’s and father’s education, skin-to-skin period, number of children, mothers’ health, and place of living were significantly associated with exclusive breastfeeding (p < 0.05). Furthermore, the results reported a significant and positive effect with the duration of breast feeding, skin to skin period, underweight, last infant sex, number of children , and having a maid at home, and a non-significant positive effect of family size, and family income on the increased odds ratio of mixed breastfeeding (OR=2.1, p=.000; OR=7.1, p=0.926; and OR=2.5, p=0.755). Conclusions: Therefore, a health promotion program for exclusive breastfeeding during antenatal health visits, together with initiating health policies in maternal hospitals to encourage the initiation of breastfeeding during the first hour of birth and the introduction of skin-to-skin contact during the first five minutes of birth.eninfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessExclusive BreastfeedingMixed FeedingPracticesSharjahDubaiUAEChild Under Two YearsArticle