Eight hundred and thirty mothers and their children aged 1 to 5 years were studied to identify the determinants of breastfeeding initiation and perseverance in relation to hospital policies. Only 18.3% of the mothers initiated breastfeeding within half an hour after birth. Mothers whose baby was brought to them every 3 hours or less were 2.5 times and mothers whose infants were brought to them for night feedings were 3 times more likely to initiate breastfeeding a few hours after birth. Mother’s occupational status and whether she was breastfed were significantly associated with breastfeeding duration.
INFANT AND CHILD research in postwar Lebanon is visibly scarce. Studies concerning this population are becoming a main priority to health care organizations as well as to policy makers alike because of the poor social indicators of development such as high infant mortality ratios (IMR) and total fertility rates (TFR) (WHO, 1996). Although approximately 80,000 births occur in Lebanon each year, according to the WHO, the infant mortality and morbidity rates remain high (WHO, 1996). Moreover, they have also estimated that half of all under age 5 deaths occur in the first month of life, mostly attributable to poor health and nutritional status of mother and infant