Abstract
BackgroundThe absence of proper infant and young child feeding practice results in malnutrition. Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) is potentially a major factor affecting child feeding practices. However, there is limited evidence about the effect of intimate partner violence (IPV) on a minimum acceptable diet. Therefore, in this study, we hypothesized that IPV will be associated with a lack of a minimum acceptable diet among children aged 6–23 months.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional analysis using the Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS) 2016. All child-mother pairs that participated in EDHS 2016 from all regions of Ethiopia were included. The analysis included mother-child pairs where 6–23 months aged children with mothers who were ever in a committed partnership and interviewed for domestic violence were involved. The data were weighted considering enumeration areas as a cluster and place of residence as a stratum. A binary logistic regression analysis was done to identify factors independently associated with a minimum acceptable diet.ResultTotally, 1307 observations were included in the final analysis. The mean age of mothers was 29 years (standard deviation ±6.54 years), the mean age of children was 14. ± 5.02 months, and 32% of women had intimate partner violence (IPV). Of the children, 8% had a minimum acceptable diet (minimum acceptable diet), 15% had a minimum dietary diversity, and 43% had a minimum meal frequency. Having intimate partner violence decreases children minimum acceptable diet by 65% (AOR: 0.35; 95% CI: 0.16, 0.77). The other factors associated with the minimum acceptable diet were caregivers attaining a secondary level of education (AOR: 4.01; 95% CI: 1.04, 15.45), currently working (AOR: 2.26; 95% CI: 1.01, 5.11), and undecided fertility desire (AOR: 4.72; 95% CI: 1.37, 16.28).ConclusionIntimate partner violence against women had a negative association with the minimum acceptable diet children have received. Decreasing violence against women, educating, and increasing work opportunities for them would help in improving child feeding practice and reducing malnutrition and its consequences. Further studies that focus on possible community-based interventions aiming to decrease IPV are recommended.
Highlights
The absence of proper infant and young child feeding practice results in malnutrition
Intimate partner violence against women had a negative association with the minimum acceptable diet children have received
Decreasing violence against women, educating, and increasing work opportunities for them would help in improving child feeding practice and reducing malnutrition and its consequences
Summary
The absence of proper infant and young child feeding practice results in malnutrition. There is limited evidence about the effect of intimate partner violence (IPV) on a minimum acceptable diet. In this study, we hypothesized that IPV will be associated with a lack of a minimum acceptable diet among children aged 6–23 months. For proper growth and development, children should receive the minimum acceptable diet including recommended quality and quantity of foods according to their age [1, 2]. Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) is potentially a major factor affecting child feeding practices. Women are the primary caregivers of children and violence affecting women might have an effect on child feeding practice. Physical and psychological effects of IPV impair women’s ability to breastfeed and provide other complementary foods [13,14,15,16,17]
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