Abstract

BackgroundImproving child nutritional status is an important step towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals 2 and 3 in developing countries. Most child nutrition interventions in these countries remain variably effective because the strategies often target the child's mother/caregiver and give limited attention to other household members. Quantitative studies have identified individual level factors, such as mother and child attributes, influencing child nutritional outcomes.MethodsWe used a qualitative approach to explore the influence of household members on child feeding, in particular, the roles of grandmothers and fathers, in two Nairobi informal settlements. Using in‐depth interviews, we collected data from mothers of under‐five children, grandmothers, and fathers from the same households.ResultsOur findings illustrate that poverty is a root cause of poor nutrition. We found that mothers are not the sole decision makers within the household regarding the feeding of their children, as grandmothers appear to play key roles. Even in urban informal settlements, three‐generation households exist and must be taken into account. Fathers, however, are described as providers of food and are rarely involved in decision making around child feeding. Lastly, we illustrate that promotion of exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months, as recommended by the World Health Organization, is hard to achieve in this community.ConclusionsThese findings call for a more holistic and inclusive approach for tackling suboptimal feeding in these communities by addressing poverty, targeting both mothers and grandmothers in child nutrition strategies, and promoting environments that support improved feeding practices such as home‐based support for breastfeeding and other baby‐friendly initiatives.

Highlights

  • Improving child nutritional status is an important step towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals 2 and 3 in developing countries

  • We explored the roles of family members, in particular, grandmothers and fathers who are living with the mother, in decision making pertaining to child feeding

  • We explored respondents' knowledge on child stunting, practices around child feeding in the household, decision making on child feeding, and child health and care

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Summary

Introduction

Improving child nutritional status is an important step towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals 2 and 3 in developing countries. Most child nutrition interventions in these countries remain variably effective because the strategies often target the child's mother/caregiver and give limited attention to other household members. Methods: We used a qualitative approach to explore the influence of household members on child feeding, in particular, the roles of grandmothers and fathers, in two Nairobi informal settlements. We found that mothers are not the sole decision makers within the household regarding the feeding of their children, as grandmothers appear to play key roles. Conclusions: These findings call for a more holistic and inclusive approach for tackling suboptimal feeding in these communities by addressing poverty, targeting both mothers and grandmothers in child nutrition strategies, and promoting environments that support improved feeding practices such as home‐based support for breastfeeding and other baby‐friendly initiatives.

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