Abstract
BackgroundApart from basic determinants, appropriate child care practices are important in prevention of growth faltering and undernutrition. Providing safe and appropriate quality complementary foods is crucial to child growth and development. However, some children in low-income communities grow normally mainly due to proper caregiver feeding behaviors. Hence, the objective of this study was to determine caregivers' feeding styles as well as to indentify predictors in Derashe special district, Southern Ethiopia.MethodsA community based cross-sectional study design was employed in the seven randomly selected Kebeles (smallest administrative unit) of Derashe special district. A total of 826 caregivers provided data pertaining to socio-demographic variables. However, 764 caregivers had complete data for the outcome variable (caregiver feeding style). A multistage stratified sampling technique was used to identify study subjects. An adapted Caregiver's Feeding Styles Questionnaire (CFSQ) was used to gather information about caregivers' feeding styles. Multivariate multinomial logistic regression was employed to identify predictors of caregivers' feeding style.ResultsThe majority (80.6%) of caregivers were biological mothers. Nearly seventy-six percent of the caregivers practiced a responsive feeding style. Caregivers other than the biological mother favoured a laissez-faire feeding style, while caregivers residing in rural Kebeles were more responsive. Caregivers with a breastfeeding frequency of more than eight times predicted both laissez-faire (RRR = 1.88; 95% CI = 1.03-3.41) and controlling (RRR = 1.7; 95% CI = 1.02-2.85) feeding styles as compared to responsive feeding.ConclusionResponsive feeding was the commonest style practiced by the caregivers. Many of the caregivers who were rural residents and birth parents have been responsive in child feeding. The instruments needed to be validated in the Ethiopian context and an additional prospective study based on direct observation of caregiver-child interactions is recommended.
Highlights
Apart from basic determinants, appropriate child care practices are important in prevention of growth faltering and undernutrition
Three hundred fifty-nine (54.5%) of the biological mothers, who were at the same time caregivers, had given birth to only one child
Caregivers other than biological mothers (RRR = 2.5; 95% CI = 1.43-4.38), who breastfed more than eight times during the previous day (RRR = 1.88; 95% CI = 1.033.41) and biological mothers with an optimal birth interval between study child and older sibling (RRR = 2.46; 95% CI = 1.38-4.40) were more likely to practice a laissez-faire feeding style compared to a responsive feeding style (Table 4)
Summary
Apart from basic determinants, appropriate child care practices are important in prevention of growth faltering and undernutrition. The condition is entirely preventable, malnutrition is a significant underlying factor in more than half of the deaths of young children in these countries [1,3]. Malnutrition is a complex phenomenon that stems from various underlying determinants, including a lack of optimal feeding practices for infants and young children. In UNICEF’s conceptual framework for determinants of nutritional status, maternal and child care practices have been given due attention in addition to sufficient food supply at the household level, access to health services and a clean environment [7]. Proper feeding practices, which ensure intake, are as important as the provision of complementary foods that meet nutritional requirements
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