BREAST-FEEDING AND SUPPLEMENTAL FEEDING FOR NEONATES IN AL-AIN, UNITED-ARAB-EMIRATES

A prospective cohort study was carried out to determine the factors af fecting initiation of breastfeeding, and describe patterns of breastfe eding and supplemental feeding in the multiethnically and culturally d iverse population of Al Ain, UAE. Two-hundred-and-twenty-one infants c ompleted the 4 weeks of follow up, None of the mothers opted not to br eastfeed, but only 4 per cent of them practiced exclusive breastfeedin g during the first month of the infants' life; 51 per cent of them ini tiated breastfeeding on the first day of life, Factors associated with delayed initiation of breastfeeding beyond the first day of life incl uded low birth weight, complicated delivery, ignorance of the advantag es of colostrum, and young maternal age, Non-milk supplements fed to b abies included water, tea, juice, yansnu, and babunj (local herbal dri nks), The preferred method of feeding the supplements was the feeding bottle, There were significant associations between the use of these s upplements and the mother's nationality and education.