BACKGROUND: Breastfeeding is not only important for the bond between the mother and the child but is also associated with many health benefits. Socio-demographic factors have been found to be important for the initiation and longer duration of breastfeeding. AIM: To record the breastfeeding characteristics and to explore possible associations with socio-cultural and demographic factors in a culturally diverse area in Greece. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A questionnaire including information about breastfeeding characteristics, medical history and demographics was completed by parents of children in the primary schools of the area. RESULTS: The study included 700 school-age children (352 boys), mean age 9.4±1.9 years. Breastfeeding was reported in 54.9% of them, with median (IQR) duration of 120 (range 60-360) days. Prevalence of breastfeeding was slightly higher in semi-urban areas, versus rural or urban settlements, but the duration there was significantly lower (p<0.001). Better educated mothers tended to initiate or sustain breastfeeding for a longer period; however, this difference was not statistically significant. Children of the native Muslim minority had been breastfed for a longer time (median duration 360 vs. 120 days, p<0.001), however, no difference was noted in prevalence. CONCLUSION: Prevalence of breastfeeding in Greece is approximately 55%, similar to previous reports and along with duration is determined by certain socio-cultural factors. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
BACKGROUND: Breastfeeding is not only important for the bond between the mother and the child but is also associated with many health benefits. Socio-demographic factors have been found to be important for the initiation and longer duration of breastfeeding. AIM: To record the breastfeeding characteristics and to explore possible associations with socio-cultural and demographic factors in a culturally diverse area in Greece. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A questionnaire including information about breastfeeding characteristics, medical history and demographics was completed by parents of children in the primary schools of the area. RESULTS: The study included 700 school-age children (352 boys), mean age 9.4±1.9 years. Breastfeeding was reported in 54.9% of them, with median (IQR) duration of 120 (range 60-360) days. Prevalence of breastfeeding was slightly higher in semi-urban areas, versus rural or urban settlements, but the duration there was significantly lower (p<0.001). Better educated mothers tended to initiate or sustain breastfeeding for a longer period; however, this difference was not statistically significant. Children of the native Muslim minority had been breastfed for a longer time (median duration 360 vs. 120 days, p<0.001), however, no difference was noted in prevalence. CONCLUSION: Prevalence of breastfeeding in Greece is approximately 55%, similar to previous reports and along with duration is determined by certain socio-cultural factors. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.