Prevalence and determinants of exclusive breastfeeding; a cross sectional study in Najaf city, Iraq Authors Huda Ghazi Hameed Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Kufa Iraq. Hawraa Shakir Department of Public Health, Directorate of Health, Najaf, Iraq. Abdulkareem Abdullah Mahmood Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Kufa Iraq. Salam Jasim Mohammad Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Kufa Iraq. Thikra Abdullah Alradhi Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Kufa Iraq. DOI: https://doi.org/10.47391/JPMA.332 Abstract Objective: To determine the prevalence of exclusive and continued breastfeeding in an urban setting, and the factors influencing the choice. Method: The cross-sectional study was conducted from February 1 to August 30, 2018, in Najaf, Iraq, and comprised children aged up to 2 years from 12 randomly selected primary healthcare centres. Data were collected using a predesigned questionnaire that had three parts covering the mother, the child and the demographic variables. Data was analysed using SPSS 20. Results: Of the 373 subjects, 209(56.0%) were males. The overall mean age was 8.8± 6.2 months (range: 1-23 months), while the mean age of the mothers was 26.5±5.8 years (range: 15-46 years). Children aged <6 months were 169(45.3%), and, among them, exclusive breastfeeding was found in 66(39.1%) cases. There was significant relationship between exclusive breastfeeding and feeding of other siblings (p=0.001), admission to hospital (p=0.02), family support (p=0.009), husband's support (p=0.007). Child sickness in early life also had significant association with exclusive breastfeeding (p<0.05). Conclusions: The prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding was found within the reported estimate for low- and middle-income countries, but much lower than the World Health Organisation recommendation. Key Words: Exclusive breastfeeding, Breastfeeding, Determinants, Breastfeeding continuation, Iraq. Downloads Full Text Article Published 2022-09-15 How to Cite Huda Ghazi Hameed, Hawraa Shakir, Abdulkareem Abdullah Mahmood, Salam Jasim Mohammad, & Thikra Abdullah Alradhi. (2022). Prevalence and determinants of exclusive breastfeeding; a cross sectional study in Najaf city, Iraq. Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association, 72(10), 1927–1931. https://doi.org/10.47391/JPMA.332 More Citation Formats ACM ACS APA ABNT Chicago Harvard IEEE MLA Turabian Vancouver Download Citation Endnote/Zotero/Mendeley (RIS) BibTeX Issue Vol. 72 No. 10 (2022): OCTOBER Section RESEARCH ARTICLE