Complementary Feeding Practices of Nepali mothers for 6 months to 24 months children.

Ram Hari Chapagain

doi:10.31729/jnma.1923

Abstract

Lack of knowledge and proper feeding practices contribute to higher childhood morbidity and mortality. The aim of the study was to evaluate the mother's knowledge and practices in terms of quantity, quality and timing of complementary feeding in infant and young child. A hospital based cross-sectional study was conducted between June, 2010 to October, 2011, at Kanti Children's Hospital, Nepal, involving 1100 mothers of children from 6 to 24 months of age who attended outpatient department of this hospital, applying systematic sampling technique using semi-structured questionnaire. Eighty-seven percent of mothers had knowledge about the duration of exclusive breast feeding but only 33.0% practiced it and 21.0% breast fed their children up to 3 months. Eighty-seven percent of mothers knew when to start complementary feeding and 53.27% of mothers used the marketed weaning food. lito alone was offered by 28.27% as complementary food. Though 36.6% had proper knowledge of frequency of complementary feeding, only 33.27% were actually practicing it and 9.9% were offering more frequent than recommended. About half of the mothers fed their child with the food of appropriate consistency and 66.0% fed with the appropriate amount. But only 15.82% mothers fed their children with ideal frequency, sufficient amount and ideal quality. There was a knowledge and practice gap of duration of exclusive breast feeding and initiation and continuation of ideal complementary feeding. Rate of exclusive breast feeding was on declining trend.

Highlights

Lack of knowledge and proper feeding practices contribute to higher childhood morbidity and mortality
A hospital based cross-sectional study was conducted between June, 2010 to October, 2011, at Kanti Children's Hospital, Nepal, involving mothers of children from 6 to 24 months of age who attended outpatient department of this hospital, applying systematic sampling technique excluding mothers of child less than 6 months and more than 24 months and using semistructured questionnaire
Nuclear family system was more common than joint family (64.3% vs 35.7%) and most of the respondents were from city (55.3%) followed by town (24.1%) and rest were from rural areas (Table 1)

Summary

Introduction

Lack of knowledge and proper feeding practices contribute to higher childhood morbidity and mortality. Addition of complementary feeds at six months with continued BF till two years which if followed appropriately can decrease infant mortality by 19 percent and prevent malnutrition especially in developing countries like ours.[1,2,3] Nepal has been trying its best to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) to reduce the childhood mortality by two thirds by 2015 though it has a long way to go.[4] Poor nutrition increases the risk of illness, and is responsible, directly or indirectly, for one third of the estimated 9.5 million deaths that occurred. Complementary Feeding Practices of Nepali Mothers for 6 to 24 Months Children in 2006 in children less than five years of age.[5,6,7]

Methods

Results

Conclusion