Infant weaning practices among mothers in the Jazan Region, Saudi Arabia

Background: The weaning process is fundamental to promoting an infant's healthy average growth and development. This study aims to investigate the weaning practices of mothers in the south of Saudi Arabia and to assess the determinants of appropriate weaning practices. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study targeted mothers attending Primary Healthcare Centers in Jazan Region. Data were collected during interviews utilizing a questionnaire divided into three sections: demographics, birth history, and infant weaning practices. In addition, logistic regression was employed to calculate the odds ratio. Results: A total of 333 mothers have been included in this investigation. The weaning practice adequacy of the recruited mothers varied, as 59 reported acceptable practice of only two or fewer of the measured weaning practice items. Thirty-two percent of the responding mothers declared that they did not receive breastfeeding and weaning education during their antenatal care visits. Married mothers belong to middle-income families, and homemakers were likelier to have higher odds of good weaning practices than other mothers in the remaining categories (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Our findings identified certain practices with a low level of adequacy. Weaning practice adequacy was not identified as influenced by breastfeeding and weaning advice in our sample, suggesting a need for further assessment of the effectiveness of weaning practice education, either during the antenatal or postnatal care follow-up visits in the Jazan region