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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Nutr.
Sec. Nutritional Epidemiology
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fnut.2025.1516686
This article is part of the Research Topic The First 1000 Days: Window of Opportunity for Child Health and Development View all 15 articles
Exploring factors that influence the knowledge and awareness of breastfeeding among Saudi mothers: A qualitative study
Provisionally accepted
Amany Anwar Saeed Alabdullah 1*
Nasreen Mohammed ALshamy 2 Layan Majed Alzahrani 3 Rana Abdullah Safhi 3 Mzoun Turki Alrashed 3 Layan Munahi Al-Mukhtalah 3 Marwa Anwar Alenazi 3 Rana Saeed Alzahrani 3 Ahad Turki Alshammari 3 Fayzah Hussain Alhussain 1
Manal Awn Alharthi 1 Fidaa Mohammed Alsaran 1- 1 Department of Maternity and Pediatric Nursing, College of Nursing, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- 2 King Saud University, Riyadh, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- 3 Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Purpose: Breastfeeding provides short- and long-term benefits for mothers and babies. Despite these advantages, the prevalence of breastfeeding among Saudi mothers is low. We explored factors affecting the knowledge and awareness of breastfeeding among Saudi mothers in Riyadh.Methods: This qualitative study included 17 mothers. The inclusion criteria were Saudi mothers aged 18–50 years, with at least one child, living in Riyadh. Semi-structured interviews of approximately 20–40 minutes were conducted online or in person between March and April 2024. Data were analyzed using the constant comparative method with NVivo 11. Ethical approval was obtained from an academic institutional review board prior to data collection.Results: Two key themes emerged from the data. Theme 1 concerned factors facilitating knowledge and awareness of breastfeeding; subthemes included positive experience with breastfeeding, knowledge of breastfeeding, family support, and financial considerations. Theme 2 concerned factors limiting knowledge and awareness of breastfeeding; subthemes included negative experiences of breastfeeding, work situations, misconceptions, and mental health issues.Conclusions: Despite the low prevalence of breastfeeding in Saudi Arabia, mothers were aware of its benefits. Physicians and midwives should provide ongoing education and support for mothers during ante- and post-natal periods to minimize misconceptions regarding breastfeeding and promote its use.
Keywords: knowledge, Awareness, breastfeeding, Mothers, Saudi Arabia
Received: 24 Oct 2024; Accepted: 21 Feb 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Alabdullah, ALshamy, Alzahrani, Safhi, Alrashed, Al-Mukhtalah, Alenazi, Alzahrani, Alshammari, Alhussain, Alharthi and Alsaran. 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:
Amany Anwar Saeed Alabdullah, Department of Maternity and Pediatric Nursing, College of Nursing, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.