Child feeding practices of mothers of rural coastal area of Navsari district

Abstract

Poor feeding habits are one of the most serious barriers to achieving and preserving health of children under the age of five, as they pose a significant challenge to social and economic growth. To know the socio-demographic profile and to study the prevalence of Infant and young child feeding practices of mothers A cross-sectional study in rural areas of Navsari district, Gujarat, included 243 women, who had one child aged 12 to 23 months preceding data collection. Data were analyzed using statistical software Epi Info 6. About 32% of the infants had received pre-lacteals feeds, most common feed was Gripe water (44.9%). The colostrum was fed by 90 % mothers. Half of mothers had initiated breast-feeding within 1 hour after delivery. Only 88 mothers (36.2%) had given exclusive breast-feeding for 6 months. About half of children had received complementary feeding during 6–9 months of age. Most of the mothers (96.7%) were washing their hands before each feeding of the child whereas 61.7 % were cooking special meal for the child. Majority of mothers (93.8%) think that breast-feeding should be continued for 1 to 2 years. Continuing to emphasise nutrition education could go a long way toward empowering mothers to avoid using pre-lacteal feeds, to sustain exclusive breastfeeding for a prescribed period, to incorporate complementary foods at the appropriate time, and to enhance overall child-care through optimum use of community health workers.