Why women stop breast feeding in occupied Palestine ?

AIM OF THE STUDY: To explore the reasons why Palestinian mothers stop breastfeeding(BF) before six months of baby age. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Hebron/ Palestine that included mothers of all 420 live singleton newborns in the period between ( January 1, 2022, and July 31, 2022 ). Mothers who did not initiate breastfeeding or continued to breastfeed, either exclusively or with supplementation, were excluded beyond the first six months of life. The information about BF status at 6 months of baby age and reasons for stopping BF was collected by Public health doctors and midwives through face-to-face interviews when women visit the clinic for 6-month baby vaccination and family planning consult. RESULTS: Of all the 420 participant mothers,300 stopped breastfeeding completely before six months of baby age, among them, only 281 gave an obvious reason for stopping breastfeeding,(30%) stopped breastfeeding because of scanty milk production, (28.8%) child weaning him/herself, (24.8%) show that returning to work is the main cause, fatigue, and painful nipples were (8.4%) and mother preference was (4%). CONCLUSION: This study highlights the reasons why women stop breastfeeding completely before six months. The results may help in identifying interventions for prolonged breastfeeding periods.