Mothers’ Perception regarding Malnutrition in their Children

Abstract

Introduction: Nutrition in the early childhood days plays a significant role by balancing the holistic aspect of child, that is, physical, mental, social moral, and spiritual area. A healthy child is not only a desire of every mother but is also an asset to the country. Inadequate amounts of nutritional intake for longer periods can lead to irreversible damage to child’s growth. However, little is known about perception of mothers to causes of malnutrition in their children. Methods: This qualitative study was undertaken in selected village of Haldwani block, Uttarakhand. Focused group discussions were conducted each being 30–45 min of duration among mothers of identified malnourished children (<3 years of age), who were purposely recruited in the study. The author played the role of facilitator and carried out the discussion with mothers with the help of open-ended questionnaire. Data were analyzed and report was created. Results: The mothers in the study reported that – irregularity in child’s eating was the major cause affecting nutritional status. There were variety of other reasons identified which were: Craving for outside food in children, inability of mothers to practice exclusive breastfeeding, inadequate deworming, lack of child related guidance from community workers, and time was the major constraint for mothers. Conclusion: Perception of child nutrition in mothers and family greatly influences the community-based management. With prompt and focused efforts of – the health workers, the community workers, the family, and the government uncomplicated malnutrition can always be treated at home. Emphasis should always be on nutritional diet as per the requirement for different age group of children.