Morbidity, Health and Nutrition Status of Infants Born to Young Mothers in Transmara West Narok County, Kenya.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine Morbidity, health and nutrition status of infants born to young mothers in Transmara west Narok County, Kenya. Five health facilities were purposively selected in Transmara West Sub County, Narok County by use of analytical cross-sectional study design. A sample size of 246 infants and 246 adolescent mothers were recruited from the health facilities. Quantitative data was analysed using SPPS for windows version 24.0 and ENA for SMART survey 2011. The relationship between nutritional status and other variables was established by use of chi-square test at a significance level of less than 0.05. Most of the mothers were between 16 to 17 years with the youngest mother being 14 years old. Malnutrition levels were 17.1 per cent 22.0% and 22.0 per cent for wasting, stunting and underweight respectively. Meal frequency, exclusive breastfeeding and infant illness two weeks before the study were significant (p<0.05) factors associated with malnutrition. The study concluded that the most prevalent illnesses were malaria and common cold. Educational level of the mother did not influence infants’ the nutritional status. The study recommended that Infant feeding practices showed a positive significant relationship with nutritional status (underweight); that is exclusive breastfeeding and meal frequency. Infants who attained the minimum meal frequency and those who achieved the minimum acceptable diet were less likely to be underweight.