Knowledge, Attitude, Practice, self-efficacy, and Barriers to Exclusive Breastfeeding Practices among Women in a Middle Eastern Country

Objective The study identified the knowledge, attitude, practice, self- efficacy and barriers to exclusive breastfeeding practices among Omani women. Methods Quantitative longitudinal survey was conducted among 505 Omani breastfeeding women. An online questionnaire was used to collect data regarding the knowledge, attitude, practice, self-efficacy, and barriers to exclusive breastfeeding practices from 2020-2022. Results Majority of women belonged to 30- 34 years. Most of them were unemployed and majority of them had higher education and above. A large portion of women reported having good knowledge and very good attitude towards breastfeeding; however, 33.5 % reported less self-efficacy. While 77.3% practiced combination of both breast-feeding and formula feeding, only 22.7% reported exclusive breastfeeding practices. In addition, 81% of the women reported high level of barriers to exclusive breast-feeding. Most of the women believed that formula feeding is equivalent to breast-feeding. Further, embarrassment about feeding in public and lactation problems were reported as barriers to exclusive breast-feeding. Additionally, policies and practices by some health services and health care providers, lack of knowledge regarding essential diet for breast-feeding and lack of support from employer for allowing special time/facilities for breast-feeding were the predictors related to the barriers to exclusive breastfeeding Practices. The other predictors includes younger women, particularly <20yrs; less educated women; unsure if the baby is getting enough milk and a belief that formula is easy to use and more available soon after birth. Conclusion Exclusive breastfeeding is associated with innumerable benefits to both the mother and the child. The policy makers and healthcare providers must emphasize on the exclusive breastfeeding practices and create stringent policies allowing special time/facilities for breast-feeding. Strategies must be created to combat the barriers to exclusive breast feeding practices.