Abstract
BackgroundNigeria initiated a range of programs and policies (from 1992 to 2005) to improve infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices. However, the prevalence of children fed in accordance with IYCF recommendations in Nigeria remains low. This paper presents time trends in IYCF practices in Nigeria for the period (1999–2013), and considers trends in the context of key national policy responses and initiatives.MethodsPrevalence and percentage change (including 95% confidence intervals) of IYCF indicators were investigated over the period 1999–2013 based on a total of 88,152 maternal responses from the Nigeria Demographic and Health Surveys, (n = 8,199 in 1999; n = 7,620 in 2003; n = 33,385 in 2008 and n = 38,948 in 2013).ResultsEarly or timely initiation of breastfeeding decreased significantly by 4.3% (95% Confidence Interval [CI]: −8.1, −0.5; p = 0.0280 for the period (1999–2013); while exclusive breastfeeding remained unchanged 1.6% (95% CI: −2.7, 5.9; p = 0.478). From 2003 to 2013, minimum meal frequency increased significantly by 13.8% (95% CI: 9.9, 17.8; p < 0.001), but minimum dietary diversity and minimum acceptable decreased significantly by 9.7% (95% CI: −9.2, −6.3; p < 0.001) and 3.5% (95% CI: −5.7, −1.3; p = 0.002), respectively. Predominant breastfeeding increased significantly by 13.1% (p < 0.001), and children ever breastfed declined by 16.4% (p < 0.001) over time.ConclusionDespite considerable improvements in national legislation, health system responses and community level development, IYCF practices in Nigeria are still below expected levels. Strengthening community and facility based participation, and broader stand-alone/integrated IYCF policy implementations are needed to improve the current feeding practices of Nigerian mothers.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13006-017-0101-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
Nigeria initiated a range of programs and policies to improve infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices
The analysis showed that early initiation of breastfeeding decreased significantly from 1999 to 2003 by 7.0% and 4.3% over the study period [Table 2]
Exclusive breastfeeding and continued breastfeeding at one year remained relatively unchanged over time at 1.6% and −0.1%, respectively) [Table 2]
Summary
Nigeria initiated a range of programs and policies (from 1992 to 2005) to improve infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices. In comparison to other developing countries such as Ethiopia, India and Indonesia where the national policy, strategy, and plans of action and health system framework to improve IYCF practices are poor, Nigeria has an established a national legislative and health system framework to promote and support infant and young child feeding practices [9]. Despite these initiatives, malnutrition, and early childhood feeding related diseases and mortality still remain problems of public health importance in Nigeria [10,11,12]. There has been a drop in the proportion of children under 24 months of age who were fed in accordance with IYCF (breastfeeding and complementary feeding) guidelines in Nigeria, from 30% in 2009 [14] to 10% in 2014 [12]
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