Breastfeeding status of Syrian infants at a tertiary hospital in Turkey: a single-center study

Breastfeeding status of Syrian infants

Abstract

Objective: Turkey is home to the largest refugee population in the world, with approximately half of all refugees being children who are at high risk of developmental issues due to the disruption and lack of resources they have experienced. Syrian refugee children in Turkey face various risks to their health and well-being, including communicable and non-communicable diseases, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, domestic violence, child labor, and child marriage. This study aimed to investigate the breastfeeding status of Syrian mothers, who are a disadvantaged group in Turkey due to migration. The study also aimed to contribute to the literature.

Methods: This was a retrospective observational study using data from medical records of Syrian infants who were followed in our hospital at the neonatal intensive care unit, delivery room, and puerperal service between January 1, 2020, and January 1, 2022. The breastfeeding status of Syrian women who gave birth in our hospital and their babies were followed for a year.

Results: A total of 10,312 births occurred at our hospital between January 1, 2020, and January 1, 2022. Of these, 17% (n=1,754) were Syrian children. Of the Syrian infants, 52.6% were female (n=922) and 47.4% were male (n=832). A total of 2% (n=212) of all infants and 2% (n=37) of Syrian infants were born prematurely. The majority of preterm cases, specifically 72% of all cases and 84% of Syrian cases, were followed in the neonatal intensive care unit. A total of 40.1% (n=705) of Syrian infants are classified as low birthweight (LBW), 6.7% (n=119) as very low birthweight (VLBW), and 1.8% (n=33) as extremely low birthweight (ELBW). The proportion of infants who were breastfed within one hour of birth was 68% (n=1193), while 20.9% (n=368) received prelacteal food. The proportion of infants who were exclusively breastfed for the first six months was 48.2% (n=845), while 44.7% (n=784) were bottle-fed. The proportion of infants who were breastfed for one year was 53.6% (n=940).

Conclusion: There have been very few studies on migrant children in our country, and what we know about breastfeeding is limited. Increasing studies and raising awareness on this issue will be more beneficial for refugee children. We should provide refugee mothers with regular breastfeeding training and psychological and social support. In our study, we observed that Syrian mothers benefited from breastfeeding training during the outpatient clinic monitoring process.