Breastfeeding Practices among Malay Academicians in Malaysia

Breastfeeding is essential to the life of a child. Through it, a child becomes healthier and smarter because of the nutrients in breastmilk provide the best source for a baby’s proper growth and development. Unfortunately, not many babies are fully breastfed despite the recommendations from Islam and the Ministry of Health Malaysia. A major factor to this hindrance is the mother’s employment outside the home. This study investigates the extent to which female academics are able to provide breastmilk to their children. This study is quantitative and utilises SPSS 18.00 software to analyse the data. The method for collecting the data is survey and interviews with experts in relevant fields. A total of 140 of the 180 respondents were chosen from three local universities in Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia. The findings reveal that the respondents were willing to give breastmilk up to one year. The findings also show that there is an increased awareness among mothers to breastfeed. These changes may occur due to the mother’s maturity, experience and knowledge. A positive environment that encourages breastfeeding and the technological advancements may also be contributing factors to the improved statistics of breastfeeding.