Young Child Feeding Practices Research Articles

Assessment of infant and young child feeding practices among mothers of Paniya tribal children aged 0-23 months in Gudalur Block, Nilgiris District.

Optimal infant and young child feeding practices (IYCFPs), despite being emphasized since 2003, are yet to be met in India. This study assessed these practices and their association with various factors among mothers of children aged 0-23 months in Paniya tribes in Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu. About 89.1% of the infants below six months were timely breastfed and 77.9% of them were exclusively breastfed, respectively. Complementary food was introduced to 25% of infants aged six to eight months. About 27.8% of them received a diverse diet. About 91.7% of them were fed egg and/or flesh food and 37% of them were fed vegetables and fruits. Illiterate mothers and mothers who had a vaginal delivery fed the infant optimally. The adherence to these practices was found to decrease gradually with an increase in the infant's age. The prevalence of IYCFP is higher in the study population compared to the corresponding indicators for the district according to the National Family Health Survey-5.

Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) practices and it’s determinants in flood-affected communities in Edo State, Nigeria

The immediate effect of child malnutrition in Africa is morbidity. In the longer term, it limits the child’s potential for life even when the child manages to survive its instantaneous effects. This cross-sectional study focused on investigating the socio-demographic determinants of the components of Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) in flood-affected Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Edo State, Nigeria. A total of 400 mothers were interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire. Results from this current study indicate that only about 48% of mothers surveyed exclusively breastfed theirs under 5 children. Also, only about 55% of mothers initiated breastfeeding within 1 hour of birth and gave colostrum, and about 45% of the mothers actually adhered strictly to the prescribed complementary feeding practice of giving nutritionally adequate and safe complementary foods alongside breastfeeding at six months up till 2 years of age and even beyond. Education, source of income, marital status, and access to healthcare facilities were strong influencers of misconceptions and other factors impeding the implementation of the core components of IYCF as observed in this study. Flood remains a significant contributing factor depleting household food security structures leading to maternal and infant malnutrition. A concerted governmental coordinated intervention is required to relieve flood-affected families of the burden of malnutrition and infectious diseases. Training and retraining of health workers will be helpful in strengthening community involvement in implementing and monitoring IYCF components in the community. Longer maternity leave for nursing mothers should be strongly advocated for.

Factors driving underweight, wasting, and stunting among urban school aged children: Evidence from Merawi town, Northwest Ethiopia.

Prior research identified malnutrition as one of the most common causes of morbidity and mortality among children globally. Furthermore, research revealed that over two thirds of deaths associated with inappropriate feeding practices occurred during the early years of life. Improper feeding practices impact a child's health in many different ways. However, research on the possible factors driving underweight, wasting, and stunting among school aged children in developing countries is limited, hence warrant further attention. Against this backdrop, this research strives to identify and assess the determinants of underweight, wasting and stunting among school aged children of a developing country-Ethiopia. A community based cross-sectional study was conducted from April 1, 2018 to June 15, 2018 in Merawi town, Ethiopia. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect data from a sample of 422 children. Binary logistic regression technique was performed to examine the effect of each selected variable on the outcome measure. The prevalence of being underweight, wasting and stunting was found to be 5.7%, 9.8%, 10.4%, respectively. The age of the child [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 12.930 (2.350, 71.157)] and the number of children [AOR = 8.155 (1.312, 50.677)] were emerged as the key determinants for underweight, and the gender of the child was significantly associated with wasting [AOR = 0.455 (0.224, 0.927)]. Finally, the age of the child [AOR = 12.369 (2.522, 60.656)] was found to predict the risk of stunting. This study revealed the age, number of children and gender of the child to have a significant association with malnutrition. The findings of this research suggest that in improving the feeding practices of young school-aged children, special attention should be paid to female children and those coming from relatively large families.

Interlinkages between Climate Change and Food Systems: The Impact on Child Malnutrition-Narrative Review.

The pandemics of obesity, undernutrition, and climate change represent severe threats to child health. They co-occur; interact with each other to produce sequelae at biological, psychological, or social levels; and share common underlying drivers. In this paper, we review the key issues concerning child diet and nutritional status, focusing on the interactions with climate and food systems. Inadequate infant and young child feeding practices, food insecurity, poverty, and limited access to health services are the leading causes of malnutrition across generations. Food system industrialization and globalization lead to a double burden of malnutrition, whereby undernutrition (i.e., stunting, wasting, and deficiencies in micronutrients) coexists with overweight and obesity, as well as to harmful effects on climate. Climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic are worsening child malnutrition, impacting the main underlying causes (i.e., household food security, dietary diversity, nutrient quality, and access to maternal and child health), as well as the social, economic, and political factors determining food security and nutrition (livelihoods, income, infrastructure resources, and political context). Existing interventions have the potential to be further scaled-up to concurrently address undernutrition, overnutrition, and climate change by cross-cutting education, agriculture, food systems, and social safety nets. Several stakeholders must work co-operatively to improve global sustainable nutrition.

Knowledge, Attitude and Practices Of Mothers Regarding Infant & Young Child Feeding Practices (Iycf) In a Tertiary Care Hospital

Background: Young Child Feeding Practices (IYCF) includes breast feedind and complementary feeding. Proper feeding practices are essential for proper nutrition, growth, development and survival of infant and young children.Maternal knowledge and feeding attitude has been shown to be a stronger predictor of breast feeding initiation and complementary feeding practice. Objectives: To evaluate the knowledge, attitude and practices of mothers regarding infant and young child feeding. Material and Methods: This cross sectional study was done in Dhaka Medical College Hospital, Dhaka from June 2017 to November 2017.A total number of 218 mothers having children between 0-23 months were included.Modified Iowa Infant Feeding Attitude Scale (IIFAS) and 5 point Likert scale was applied to assess maternal attitude towards infant and young children feeding. The relationship between infant feeding knowledge, attitude and practices and socio-demographic variables was tested by using Chi-square test. Relationship among mothers knowledge, attitude and practices regarding IYCF was showed by Spearman’s correlation. Results: The study result showed that, 83.5% mothers had good knowledge about IYCF but only half of them had good practice. Almost everyone ( 99.1% ) agreed that breast milk is best for new born baby. Most of the mother (94%) knew that exclusive breast feeding should be given for six months but only half of them (51.1%) practiced EBF.Though 72.5 % mothers had positive attitude towards breast feeding but about two third (63.6%) of them gave formula milk within 6 completed months. About two third of mothers (60.2%) used bottle for feeding their child. Most of the mother (94%) had knowledge about complementary feeding but only 55.7% mother provide complementary feeding accurately with atleast four different types of food. This study showed that educational background has significant relationship with KAP of mothers regarding IYCF. Conclusion: The study concluded that, majority of the mothers had good knowledge and a positive attitude towards breastfeeding and complementary feeding but they did not practice this properly.There is a strong association between mother’s educational background and KAP (Knowledge, attitude & practice) regarding IYCF. J Dhaka Med Coll. 2021; 29(1): 43-51

Infant and young child feeding practices are associated with childhood anaemia and stunting in sub-Saharan Africa

BackgroundThe co-occurrence of anaemia and stunting (CAS) presents acute development and morbidity challenges to children particularly in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Evidence on the effect of child feeding recommendations on CAS is scarce.MethodsWe used data from 22 recent Demographic and Health Surveys in SSA countries to examine the association between caregivers’ implementation of recommendations on infant and young child feeding and the CAS in their 6- to 23-mo-old children.ResultsOverall, in multiple logistic regression models, child feed index score, high wealth of household, increasing household size, household head with at least secondary school education, improved sanitation of household, an increase in caregiver’s age and caregiver’s with at least secondary education were associated with lower odds of CAS (i.e., AOR: 0.86; 95% CI; 0.84 – 0.88: 0.75; 0.69 – 0.82: 0.98, 0.98 – 0.99: 0.76, 0.70 – 0.83: 0.81, 0.74 – 0.87: 0.87, 0.81 – 0.94: 0.69, 0.62 – 0.77 respectively). Having a diarrhoea in the past 2 weeks and having fever in the past month were associated with higher odds of CAS (AOR:1.1, 95% CI; 1.0 – 1.2: 1.1, 1.0 – 1.2, respectively). Results from the decision tree analysis showed that the educational level of women was the most important predictor of CAS, followed by child feeding score, the level of education of the family head and state of drinking water.ConclusionThe results buttress the importance of interventions aimed at improving feeding practices and parental educational as a vehicle to improve children’s nutritional status.

Fathers’ involvement in complementary feeding of children in Damot Woyde District, South Ethiopia: a community-based cross-sectional study

BackgroundIn infant and young child feeding practice parents are the primary agents for childcare activities, such as feeding. Mothers’ role in infant and young child feeding practice has been the focus of previous research. The involvement of fathers in child-feeding practice has rarely been studied. Thus, this study aimed to assess fathers’ involvement in the complementary feeding of children and identify factors associated with it in Southern Ethiopia.MethodsA community-based cross-sectional study was conducted which included a survey, in-depth interviews, and focus group discussions (FGDs). The survey was conducted with 593 fathers who have at least one child of age 6-23 months. Four FGDs were conducted with fathers, and 21 in-depth interviews were conducted with fathers, mothers, and community health workers. The survey data were entered into Epi data software version 1.4.4.0 and statistical analysis was performed using SPSS software version 20. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed and statistical significance was considered at p < 0.05. All interviews and FGDs were transcribed, coded, categorized, and analyzed using open code software version 4.0.2.ResultsOf the total sample of 593, 50.9% of the fathers in the study were involved in their children’s complementary feeding practices. Fathers with better household income (AOR = 1.56; 95% CI: 1.09, 2.22) and good perception of child complementary feeding practice (AOR = 1.79; 95% CI: 1.28, 2.52) were more likely to be involved in their children’s complementary feeding practice. The majority of the fathers had better knowledge about the recommended complementary feeding practices.ConclusionsIncome-generating activities and behavioral change communication for fathers should be encouraged to improve their involvement in child feeding. Community-based nutrition programs should also give due attention to increasing the involvement of fathers.

Infant and Young Child Feeding Practices and Mycotoxin Contamination of Complementary Food Ingredients in Kongwa District, Tanzania

BackgroundInadequate infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices in low income countries contribute to poor child growth and development. ObjectivesTo assess IYCF practices and mycotoxin contamination in complementary food ingredients across 2 seasons in Kongwa District, Tanzania. MethodsEarly feeding practices in 115 rural households from 25 villages in Kongwa District, Dodoma region, Tanzania, were assessed. The primary caregiver for the index child (6–18 mo of age) was interviewed using a structured dietary questionnaire at recruitment (October/November 2017), and revisited 6 mo later. The questionnaire included questions on typical food consumption in the past 24 h. This study reports 7 of the revised and new IYCF indicators, including minimum dietary diversity (MDD). Aflatoxins (AF) and fumonisins (FUM) were analyzed in complementary food ingredients for pooled household samples to broadly establish patterns of contamination at the village level. ResultsThe MDD was not met for 80% of infants at recruitment (survey 1) as compared with 56% in survey 2 (P < 0.05). Changes in MDD between the 2 surveys were dependent on season but not age. Maize was consumed by >90% of households in both surveys, whereas groundnut was consumed by 44% and 64% of households in surveys 1 and 2, respectively. AF concentrations in maize and groundnuts were found to be higher in survey 1 than in survey 2. Overall, AF exceeded the legal limit in 18% of maize and 61% of groundnut pooled samples in both surveys. Maize was also contaminated with significant FUM concentrations. ConclusionsPoor diets were common among children in Kongwa District. Reliance on maize and groundnuts exposes this vulnerable age group to AF (also to FUM in maize). Inadequate diet and exposure to AF and FUM have separately been linked to linear growth retardation. Low diet diversity and mycotoxins contamination are plausible causes for poor growth and development among infants in Central Tanzania. Curr Dev Nutr 20XX;x:xx.

Impact of Infant and Young Child Feeding Practices on the Nutritional Status of Children in Northern Bangladesh

Background: Proper feeding practices are essential for attaining and maintaining optimum nutrition, health, and development of infants and children. Exclusive breastfeeding during the first six months of life and continued breastfeeding for two years, together with age-appropriate, nutritionally adequate complementary feeding initiated after six months of age, are optimum Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) practices. However, often many aspects of infant and young child feeding practices are not optimum, with serious consequences for the child.&#x0D; Objective: To determine the impact of Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) practices on the nutritional status of children. Materials and Method: This Cross-sectional descriptive type of study was conducted among 314 children from 6 months to 24 months of age at the Pediatric Outpatient Department and EPI center of Rajshahi Medical College Hospital during the period of January 2017 to December 2018. Collected data were analyzed by using 'SPSS version 16.&#x0D; Result: Among 314 children exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) rate was 68.2% for the first six months, and timely started complementary feeding was 58.5% of cases. In 214 exclusive breastfed infants, only 4.7% and 1.4% of children were moderate to severely wasted and stunted, respectively. On the other hand, among 97 infants who were not exclusively breastfed, the percentage of moderate to severe wasting and stunting was 11.4% and 13.4%, respectively. Among the 175 timely started complementary feeding children, only 12% and 6% were moderate to severely underweight and wasted, respectively, no one was stunted, but among the inappropriately started complementary children, 20.2%, 12.5%, and 12.8% were moderately to severely underweight, wasted and stunted respectively.&#x0D; Conclusion: Most of the children who were given exclusive breastfeeding in the first six months and started complementary food at an appropriate time after six months had normal nutritional status. Both moderate to severe stunting and wasting were common in those children who were non-exclusively breastfed and started complementary feeding either early or late.&#x0D; TAJ 2022; 35: No-2: 83-91

Effect of a Nutrition Education Intervention on Mothers’ Infant and Young Child Feeding Knowledge and Practices in the Peri-Urban Areas of Bobo-Dioulasso: Before and after Study

Background: This study assessed the effect of a nutrition education intervention aiming to improve the knowledge and practices of under 5 years children’s mothers on infant and young child feeding in peri urban areas of Bobo-Dioulasso in Burkina Faso. Methods: A total of 243 mothers of children under 5 years in the peri-urban of Bobo-Dioulasso were surveyed before and after the intervention using the FAO questionnaire for infant and young child feeding (IYCF) knowledge and practices assessment in January and October 2017. The intervention included two components consisting of a theoretical phase (counselling and discussion) and cooking demonstrations implemented for ten months. To account for the before-and-after design of the study, the McNemar’s test was used to assess the effect of the intervention on mothers’ infant and young child feeding knowledge and practices. Results: The mean age of mothers was 29 ± 6.2 years and 50.6% of the mothers were between 20 and 29 years old. All indicators used to assess the mothers’ knowledge of breastfeeding and complementary feeding significantly improved after the intervention (all p-values Conclusion: The intervention improved the mothers’ knowledge on breastfeeding and complementary feeding and some child feeding practices. This study provided some evidence of an effective nutrition education intervention to increase maternal knowledge and practices.

Implications of Young Child Malnutrition on Health and Development: Prioritize Nutrition Interventions in the First 1000 Days of Life

Implications of child undernutrition is not limited to adverse impact on physical growth but on optimum brain growth, mental health and cognitive development. The adverse effects of micronutrient deficiencies in mothers and children are serious with impact on morbidity, mortality, anemia, school performance, overall productivity and national development. Only in the last two decades, studies on the month-wise trend in the prevalence rate of child undernutrition in under five years has drawn attention to the fact that the stunting and underweight rate increases steadily up to 24 months, peaks at about two years of age and then stabilises. Efforts are therefore being directed to the significance of concentrating on implementation of child undernutrition preventive measure in the first 1000 days of life. As per the globally accepted conceptual framework of child malnutrition and the evidence available of effective interventions, emphasis is to ensure universal coverage of selected package of essential nutrition interventions (ENIs) and coupling these with nutrition sensitive interventions. Priority interventions in the first 1000 days comprise nutrition care package linked to antenatal care services, intensive efforts for universal adoption of appropriate infant and young child feeding practices and context specific nutrition sensitive measures .For effective implementation, special attention to mapping of the ’at risk’ households having a member falling in the 1000 days window needs special attention. The contacts of health workers with antenatal care and routine child immunization services need to be effectively used for promoting appropriate maternal nutrition care and breastfeeding and complementary feeding practices in the first 1000 days of life. Along with universal coverage of ‘at risk’ households with ENIs, it is imperative to ensure that the context specific nutrition sensitive interventions are simultaneously addressed, as reflected in the design of India’s National Nutrition Mission/Poshan2.0.

Роль первичного звена здравоохранения в организации питания детей грудного и раннего возраста

Objective. To assess infant and young child feeding practices from a local pediatrician’s perspective. Patients and methods. The empirical research based on a questionnaire survey of 50 local pediatric specialists in Voronezh children’s clinics was conducted. The questionnaire contained questions related to the issues of nutrition for children aged 0–3 years. Results. The analysis of survey results showed that the promotion of breastfeeding begins mostly during the prenatal period (60%). The questions related to artificial feeding arise among mothers from the birth of a child to 3 months of age (up to 50%); thereafter, their frequency decreases significantly (to 12%). Pediatricians do not always have enough time to talk to parents about principles for introducing complementary foods. Parents’ engagement in their child’s nutrition decreases after 1 year of age. Conclusion. Most respondents believe that the developed computer program will help to organize an adequate dietary plan for infants and young children. It will reduce the amount of time that specialists spend on pediatric nutrition counseling and draw parents’ attention to the issues of early childhood nutrition. Key words: infant and young child nutrition, breastfeeding, complementary feeding, rickets prevention, nutrition calculation software

Prevalence of Double Burden of Malnutrition among Young Children in Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India: A Cross-sectional Study

Introduction: The double burden of malnutrition (DBM), which refers to the coexistence of obesity and stunting in children, is a newly emerging form of malnutrition and a significant issue in developing countries, including India. Many of these countries are in the third stage of the epidemiological transition and undergoing rapid urbanisation, leading to increased availability of processed food, mechanisation of work, and sedentary lifestyles. These factors present a unique challenge in combating DBM. Due to the lack of evidence on DBM in India, particularly among young children, the current study was conducted. Aim: The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of DBM among children under six years of age and identify its biosocial determinants. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in the Urban Anganwadi Centres of Tehsil Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India. The study spanned six months, from November 2021 to April 2022, and included a total of 310 children from 13 Anganwadi Centres. Data collection was performed using a validated and pretested semi-structured questionnaire through Epicollect 5.0. The collected data were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23.0. Pearson’s Chi-square test was employed to examine the association between various biosocial determinants (sociodemographic factors, Infant and Young Child Feeding practices, and screen time) and DBM. Results: The study included 310 children under six years of age, among whom 11 (3.5%) exhibited DBM. The prevalence of DBM was higher in females, with 8 (5.2%) affected, compared to males, with 3 (2%) affected. Among the females, DBM was more prevalent in the age group of 2-5 years, with five cases. Six out of the 11 children with DBM belonged to the lower-middle class. Additionally, 7 (4%) of the DBM children were breastfed immediately, while 4 (3.5%) were breastfed after a few hours or days. The prevalence of DBM in urban areas of Rishikesh (3.5%) was higher than the national average of 2.8% reported in the Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey (CNNS) 2016- 2018 report. Conclusion: Although, the present study had a small sample size, it offers valuable insights and fills the data gap regarding the estimation of DBM at the individual level and the association of various factors in this specific age group. DBM was more prevalent in females compared to males, suggesting a genderrelated disparity in the occurrence of DBM among young children. However, further research is needed to understand the underlying factors contributing to this difference and to develop targeted interventions.

Childhood Overweight and Obesity in Vietnam: A Landscape Analysis of the Extent and Risk Factors

Tackling childhood overweight and obesity is critical not only to improve the health and well-being of children and adolescents, but also for entire populations and future generations. This paper provides the latest evidence on the extent of, and risk factors for, childhood overweight and obesity in Vietnam. The landscape analysis tool developed by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and World Health Organization (WHO) was used. A search for peer-reviewed articles in English on online databases was undertaken. Peer-reviewed Vietnamese articles were also retrieved from a range of sources. The prevalence of overweight among children aged under 5 years increased from 5.6% in 2010 to 7.4% in 2019. For overweight and obesity among children aged 5 to 19 years, prevalence rose from 8.5% and 2.5% in 2010 to 19% and 8.1% in 2020, respectively. Maternal malnutrition, gestational diabetes during pregnancy, and inadequate infant and young child feeding practices are all risk factors for early childhood overweight. Unhealthy diets, insufficient physical activity, and lack of sleep are among the risk factors for overweight and obesity among school aged children and adolescents. The prevention of overweight and obesity among Vietnamese children requires a whole-of-government, cross-sectoral approach to addresses the obesogenic environment that is negatively influencing the nutrition of children.

Complementary feeding practices of mothers and caregivers of under-fives in Sokoto, North-Western Nigeria

Background: Adequate complementary feeding entails feeding children aged between 6 and 23 months with foods from four or more food groups at least thrice a day. In introducing complementary feeds, mothers or caregivers adopt various feeding practices which may not comply with standards for optimal infant feeding. Objective: To assess the complementary feeding practices of mothers and caregivers in Sokoto, North-western Nigeria. Methods: A cross-sectional survey of consenting mothers/caregivers selected through multistage random sampling. Data was obtained using an interviewer-administered questionnaire adapted from a WHO document on indicators for assessing infant and young child feeding practices, and was analyzed using SPSS version 25. Results: A total of 353 respondents with a mean (±SD) age of 28.8 ±6.1 years were interviewed. Most 330(93.5%) of the respondents were married and had ≥3 (77.9%) numbers of children. Most (50.7%) of the respondents had no formal education and majority (80.5%) were petty traders. They were mainly 180(51.0%) of low socio-economic status. Most 185(52.4%) of the respondents introduced complementary feeds (CF) before six months and mainly 182(53.1%) in the form of guinea corn gruel. Carbohydrate based feeds were the most 335(94.9%) consumed form of family diet. The minimum nutrient diversity and frequency were met in only 96(27.2%) and 217(61%) of the children, respectively. The minimum acceptable diet was unmet in the majority 285(80.7). Socio-economic class (p=0.002) and community setting (p=0.003) were associated with respondents feeding practices. Middle socio-economic class (p=0.009) and urban community setting (p=0.002) were independent predictors of timely initiation of CF. Conclusion: Majority of the respondents practiced early initiation of complementary feeds. The minimum acceptable diet was unmet in the majority of the children. Socio-economic class and community setting were associated with complementary feeding practices.

Effects of Dietary Diversity on Growth Outcomes of Children Aged 6 to 23 Months in India: Evidence from National Family and Health Survey.

Low dietary diversity significantly interplays with children's growth failure. However, evidence of its crucial role in children's health remains inconclusive in developing countries such as India. This study attempts to find the association between dietary diversity and growth outcomes among children aged between 6 and 23 months in India using the fourth round of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS), 2015-2016. A total of 67,278 mother-child pairs of children between the ages of 6-23 months and mothers aged 15-49 years were included in this study. Pearson's chi-square significance test and multivariable logistic regression were used to determine the association between dietary diversity and child growth outcomes (stunted, wasted, and underweight). The study found that the prevalence of stunting and severe stunting among children aged between 6 and 23 months were 35.9% and 16.2%; 23.8% and 8.5% represented wasting, and severe wasting; and more than 32%, 10% were underweight and severely underweight respectively. This present study found that having an inadequate minimum dietary diversity (&lt;4 food groups) significantly increases the risk of being stunted (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 1.29; 95% confidence interval (CI); 1.21-1.38), wasted (AOR = 1.29; 95% CI; 1.21-1.38), and underweight (AOR = 1.47; 95% CI; 1.39-1.56). Further, it was noted that children who did not intake dairy products, eggs, and other fruits and vegetables were more likely to be stunted, wasted, and underweight and more likely to be severely stunted, wasted, and underweight. Therefore, additional nutrition-specific interventions are urgently needed to strengthen and enhance existing feeding interventions aimed at improving infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices, including complementary feeding practices among children aged between 6 and 23 months in India. The Government should focus such interventions more on states or regions where the prevalence of adequate minimum dietary diversity (MDD) and malnutrition is high.

Engaging Fathers Through Nutrition Behavior Communication Change Does Not Increase Child Dietary Diversity in a Cluster Randomized Control Trial in Rural Ethiopia

BackgroundAdding food vouchers or paternal nutrition behavior change communication (BCC) activities to maternal BCC may improve child diets and household food security but their effect is unknown. ObjectivesWe assessed whether maternal BCC, maternal and paternal BCC, maternal BCC and a food voucher, or maternal and paternal BCC and a food voucher improved nutrition knowledge, child diet diversity scores (CDDS), and household food security. MethodsWe implemented a cluster randomized control trial in 92 Ethiopian villages. Treatments were as follows: maternal (M) BCC only; maternal BCC and paternal BCC (M+P); maternal BCC and food vouchers (M+V); and maternal BCC, food vouchers, and paternal BCC (M+V+P). Effects were assessed using generalized estimating equations. ResultsMaternal BCC and paternal BCC increased the maternal and paternal knowledge of optimal infant and young child feeding practices by 4.2–6.8 percentage points (P < 0.05) and by 8.3–8.4 percentage points (P < 0.01), respectively. Combining maternal BCC with either paternal BCC or the food voucher increased CDDS by 21.0%–23.1% (P < 0.05). The treatments M, M+V, and M+P increased the proportion of children who met minimum acceptable diet standards by 14.5, 12.8, and 20.1 percentage points, respectively (P < 0.01). Adding paternal BCC to the maternal BCC treatment or to the maternal BCC and voucher treatment did not lead to a larger increase in CDDS. ConclusionsIncreased paternal involvement does not necessarily translate into improvements in child feeding outcomes. Understanding the intrahousehold decision-making dynamics that underlie this is an important area for future research.This study was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT 03229629.

Maternal Nutritional Knowledge as a Determinant of Stunting in West Java: Rural-Urban Disparities

Background: Maternal nutritional knowledge must be strengthened to lower the problem of stunting. However, there is currently a lack of information regarding the nutritional knowledge of mothers of stunted and non-stunted children in West Java's rural and urban areas. Objectives: This study compares the nutritional knowledge of mothers of under-five children in West Java across four groups: those who are stunted in rural areas (SR), those who are stunted in urban areas (SU), and those who are not in rural (NR) and urban (NU). Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in Cianjur (rural) and Sukabumi City (urban) in June 2022. Data was collected through interview to 300 mothers of children underfive using pretested questionnaire. Nutritional knowledge comprised of 20 questions about infant and young child feeding and balanced nutrition. One-way ANOVA and Tukey HSD Post Hoc Tests were applied for data analyses using IBM SPSS 22.0. Results: Overall, both prevalence of stunting in rural and urban was 33.3% and 30.7%, respectively. Mothers in four groups had moderate nutritional knowledge, with total scores ranging from 70.9 to 75.2. Mothers of NU were found to have more nutritional awareness than NR and SR. In comparison to NR, mothers of NU babies are more likely to be aware that their 2- or 3-month-old infants cannot consume bananas or papayas. Compared to SR, more NU mothers are aware that vegetables do not contain protein. There are more mothers of NU know that sweetened condensed milk is not more nutrient rich compared to powder or liquid milk than NR and SR. Conclusions: Urban mothers have superior nutritional knowledge than rural mothers. Even, knowledge of rural mother with stunted child is the poorest. With the high prevalence of stunting, access to nutritional information should be enhanced, with a focus on the feeding practices of young children.

Knowledge, Attitude and Involvement of First-Time Fathers in Infant and Young Child Feeding and Care Practices

Father’s role is as important as a mother’s in the early years of life to ensure optimum growth and development of the baby. But in most societies, it is often linked with just earning money for the child and the entire family. The present study was undertaken to assess the knowledge, attitude and involvement of first-time fathers in infant and young child feeding and care practices, and their relationship with each other. The influence of select personal and family factors of the fathers was also studied on these aspects. A total of 60 first-time fathers having only one child in the age group of 6 months to 3 years residing in the National Capital Region of India constituted the study sample. A questionnaire schedule was administered to gather information on general and family characteristics, child’s profile, and knowledge, attitudes and involvement of the fathers in infant and young child feeding and care practices. Findings revealed that the total knowledge scores of maximum fathers (43%) were ‘average’. Nearly 60% and 38% fathers respectively had ‘very good’ and ‘good’ total attitude scores. High percentage of fathers had ‘good’ (43%) and ‘very good’ (30%) total involvement scores related to their infant/young child feeding and care practices. A weak but significant positive correlation was found only between knowledge and involvement scores of the fathers (r=0.277, p&lt;0.05). Attitude scores of the fathers were found to be influenced by their occupation while their involvement scores were influenced by their age, and monthly family income. The study indicated that even though the knowledge of the first-time fathers regarding infant and young child feeding practices was average, their attitude regarding these aspects was good, and they also showed a good involvement in these practices. The existing knowledge gaps need to be catered to through suitable timely interventions in order to ensure that fathers can also proactively contribute towards the feeding and care of their infants and young children.

Minimum dietary diversity and associated factors among children aged 6-23 months in Enebsie Sar Midir Woreda, East Gojjam, North West Ethiopia

BackgroundDietary diversity has been recognized as a significant component of high-quality diets for children’s growth and development. Poor infant and young child feeding practices in the first one thousand days of age is the major contributor of malnutrition that leads to failure to thrive to their age, in low-income countries including Ethiopia. It causes long-term consequences of chronic malnutrition, including as stunting, has an impact on intellectual development, and raises the risk of several infectious diseases and death. There was no research done on the dietary diversity of the children in the study area.ObjectiveThe main objective of this study was to assess minimum dietary diversity and associated factors among children aged from 6-23 months in Enebsie Sar Midir Woreda.MethodsA community-based cross-sectional study design was used to assess the minimum dietary diversity and associated factors among children aged 6–23 months in Enebsie Sar Midir Woreda, East Gojjam, North West Ethiopia. A total of 512 Mothers/caregivers of children of 6–23 months old in the community were included in the study using a systemic sampling technique. Data were collected by the interviewer-administered structured, pre-tested questionnaire. A 24-hour recall method was used to capture the dietary intake of children during the previous 24 h period before the interview. The data were coded and entered into SPSS for windows version 20 and analyzed after cleaning. Descriptive statistics and bivariate and multivariable logistic regression models were used to isolate independent predictors of minimum dietary diversity. All tests were two-sided and P < 0.05 was used for declaring statistical significance.ResultsThe overall prevalence of minimum dietary diversity was 18.2% (CI: 14.8, 21.7). The dominant food groups consumed were roots, grains, and tubers. While consumption of vitamin A-rich fruits and vegetables and other vegetables were relatively low.On multivariable logistic regression model, after adjusting for other variables, availability of cow’s milk at household (AOR = 17.27; 95% CI: 6.73, 44.44), cultivating vegetables (AOR = 3.2; 95% CI: 1.05, 9.8), availability of farmland (AOR= 10.15, 95%CI: 1.78, 57.93) and number of animals (AOR = 6.46; 95% CI: 1.97, 21.12) were significantly associated with minimum dietary diversity. ConclusionThe proportion of infant and young children aged between 6-23months receiving minimum dietary diversity score is low compared with a study conducted in Addis Ababa. Availability of both animal and plant-source foods from household production was positively associated with practicing the minimum dietary diversity among children implying the need for strengthening nutrition-sensitive agricultural practices.