Breastfeeding knowledge among indigenous Temiar women: a qualitative study

Sharifah Zahhura Syed Abdullah, . and Rozieyati Mohamed Saleh, . Breastfeeding knowledge among indigenous Temiar women: a qualitative study. pp. 117-128. ISSN 1394-035X

Introduction: The benefits of breastfeeding for both mothers and infants are widely recognised. Breastfeeding confirms a womans unique ability to care for her infant in the best way possible and promotes optimum infant and maternal health. Methods: A qualitative research method involving five focus group discussions (n33) was chosen in this study to compare and contrast the breastfeeding practice in two different locations: the communities of Pos Pulat and the regroupment scheme settlement at Rancangan Pengumpulan Semula (RPS) Kuala Betis in Kelantan Malaysia which represents different lifestyle experiences of indigenous Temiar population. Results: The benefits of breastfeeding to the infants reported by some Temiar women (42.4) were for the infants health and growth. Responses from urban RPS Kuala Betis women include breast milk contains antibodies (3.0) delays in the return of regular ovulation (6.1) thus lengthening birth intervals and bonding between maternal-baby (6.1). In general respondents from Pos Pulat seemed to have little knowledge regarding this issue except for a woman who mentioned that maternal milk contains vitamins. Based on the narrative analysis knowledge gap was observed between these two communities. Conclusion: Although all the women interviewed had the experience of breastfeeding their infants most of them lacked the knowledge regarding the benefits of the breastfeeding either to the infants or to the mothers. The findings from this study are crucial for the preservation of breastfeeding culture among the Temiar women and can be used to improve promotion of breastfeeding to other Orang Asli groups in Malaysia.

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Abstract

Introduction: The benefits of breastfeeding for both mothers and infants are widely recognised. Breastfeeding confirms a womans unique ability to care for her infant in the best way possible and promotes optimum infant and maternal health. Methods: A qualitative research method involving five focus group discussions (n33) was chosen in this study to compare and contrast the breastfeeding practice in two different locations: the communities of Pos Pulat and the regroupment scheme settlement at Rancangan Pengumpulan Semula (RPS) Kuala Betis in Kelantan Malaysia which represents different lifestyle experiences of indigenous Temiar population. Results: The benefits of breastfeeding to the infants reported by some Temiar women (42.4) were for the infants health and growth. Responses from urban RPS Kuala Betis women include breast milk contains antibodies (3.0) delays in the return of regular ovulation (6.1) thus lengthening birth intervals and bonding between maternal-baby (6.1). In general respondents from Pos Pulat seemed to have little knowledge regarding this issue except for a woman who mentioned that maternal milk contains vitamins. Based on the narrative analysis knowledge gap was observed between these two communities. Conclusion: Although all the women interviewed had the experience of breastfeeding their infants most of them lacked the knowledge regarding the benefits of the breastfeeding either to the infants or to the mothers. The findings from this study are crucial for the preservation of breastfeeding culture among the Temiar women and can be used to improve promotion of breastfeeding to other Orang Asli groups in Malaysia.

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Item Type:	Article
AGROVOC Term:	Women
AGROVOC Term:	Ethnic groups
AGROVOC Term:	Infant feeding
AGROVOC Term:	Breast feeding
AGROVOC Term:	Human milk
AGROVOC Term:	Infants
AGROVOC Term:	Qualitative analysis
AGROVOC Term:	Local knowledge
AGROVOC Term:	Rural areas
AGROVOC Term:	Geographical regions
Depositing User:	Mr. AFANDI ABDUL MALEK
Last Modified:	24 Apr 2025 00:54
URI:	http://webagris.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/8250

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