Association of infant and young child feeding practices with under-nutrition: evidence from the Nepal Demographic and Health Survey

Background: Childhood under-nutrition is prevalent in many developing countries including Nigeria, and is an underlying cause for more than half of all childhood deaths. Based on the recent Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS), the prevalence of under-nutrition between 2008 and 2013 has risen, despite an increase in exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) rate over the same period. This study was carried out to assess the effect of infant and young child feeding practices on , nutritional status of children 0 – 24 months in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. Subjects and Methods: Data were collected between November and December 2016 from 307 mother-child (aged 0 – 24 months) pairs attending six health centres in Port Harcourt using a pretested self-administered questionnaire. Data collected included maternal and child socio-demographics, mother’s infant feeding practices, 24-hour dietary recall and anthropometric measurements. Data were analysed using SPSS version 20.0. Results: The mean age of the children was 5.6±6.1 months, 207 (67.4%) were under 6 months of age and 100 (32.6%) between the ages of 6 to 24 months. Three hundred and three (98.7%) children were breastfed. The rate of exclusive breastfeeding was 51.7% among the children aged 0 – 5.9 months. The mean age at which breastfeeding was stopped was 9.3±5.5 months. The average age at which complementary foods were started was 4.4±1.8 months. All the children on complementary feeding met the minimum feeding frequency, but only 43 (33.6%) met the minimum dietary diversity of 4 or more food groups. Overall, 111 (36.2%) children were fed according to WHO recommendation. 10.1% of the children were overweight/obese, 5.5% were wasted, 6.2% were underweight and 8.8% were stunted. Lack of EBF was positively associated with stunting (p = 0.024). Conclusion: Infant and Young Child Feeding practices among mothers in Port Harcourt fall short of the WHO recommendations, resulting in various types of malnutrition among the children. Therefore, more emphasis should be laid on growth monitoring and promotion services and age-specific nutritional counseling to parents and care-givers.

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Infant and young child feeding practices in Ethiopia: analysis of socioeconomic disparities based on nationally representative data

Archives of Public Health ◽

10.1186/s13690-021-00555-x ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 79 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Nigatu Regassa Geda ◽

Cindy Xin Feng ◽

Bonnie Janzen ◽

Rein Lepnurm ◽

Carol J. Henry ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Young Child ◽

Feeding Practices ◽

Health Concern ◽

Proportional Odds ◽

Child Feeding ◽

Gainful Employment ◽

Young Child Feeding ◽

Child Feeding Practices ◽

Infant And Young Child ◽

Unit Increase

Abstract Background Undernutrition among children is a priority area of public health concern in Ethiopia. The purpose of this study was to examine disparities in Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) practices among children 6–23 months. Method Data were drawn from the 2016 Ethiopian Demographic and Health Surveys (EDHS). A total of 3240 children aged 6–23 months were used for the present analysis. The outcome variable was IYCF practice score (ranging 0–7) which was constructed based on the linear and combined effects of four sets of variables: breastfeeding, avoidance of bottle feeding, diet diversity score and minimum feeding frequency. IYCF practice score was further recoded into three categories. Proportional odds regression was used to assess the determinants of IYCF category. Results The proportional odds regression analysis showed that IYCF scores significantly decreased by 5% (Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) = 0.95; 95% CI: 0.93–0.97) for every unit increase in the child’s age. Households with fathers of primary and secondary and above level education were 1.37 times (95% CI: 1.14–1.66) and 1.67 times (95% CI: 1.26–2.23) more likely to be in the high IYCF category than in the poor IYCF category. The likelihood of being in the high IYCF practice category decreased for non-working mothers by 30% (AOR = 0.70; 95% CI: 0.59–0.83) compared to those working in gainful employment. The chance of being in the high IYCF practice category decreased by 29% for households with no access to radio (AOR = 0.71; 95% CI: 0.59–0.85). Those with medium and rich/richer wealth category were 1.54 times (95% CI: 1.22–1.94) and 1.40 times (95% CI: 1.11–1.75) more likely to belong to high IYCF practice category than being in poor IYCF category. For every unit increase in health service utilization, the chance of falling in higher IYCF category increases by 1.15 times (95% CI: 1.08–1.23). The chance of falling in higher IYCF practice category decreases for rural residents by 37% (AOR = 0.63; 95% CI: 0.47–0.84) compared to those residing in urban areas. Conclusion For a child, the first two years is the time span during which linear faltering of growth is most prevalent and the period when the process of becoming stunted is almost complete. This study recommends improving access to women for gainful employment, provision of economic support to poor rural women, education and promotion of nutrition messages using most accessible media and boosting the positive role of fathers in child feeding practices.

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Effect of Peer Counselling by Mother Support Groups on Infant and Young Child Feeding Practices: The Lalitpur Experience

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0109181 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 9 (11) ◽

pp. e109181 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

Komal P. Kushwaha ◽

Jhuma Sankar ◽

M. Jeeva Sankar ◽

Arun Gupta ◽

J. P. Dadhich ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Young Child ◽

Support Groups ◽

Feeding Practices ◽

Child Feeding ◽

Young Child Feeding ◽

Child Feeding Practices ◽

Infant And Young Child ◽

Peer Counselling

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Association of Infant and Young Child Feeding Practices with Linear Growth of Children under 24 Months in Asia and Africa

Pakistan Journal of Nutrition ◽

10.3923/pjn.2019.665.670 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 18 (7) ◽

pp. 665-670 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Aprilya Roza Werda ◽

Diah Mulyawati

Keyword(s):

Young Child ◽

Linear Growth ◽

Feeding Practices ◽

Child Feeding ◽

Young Child Feeding ◽

Child Feeding Practices ◽

Infant And Young Child

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A cross sectional study on optimal infant and young child feeding practices with reference to WHO indicators in a rural area of Puducherry

International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health ◽

10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20191405 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 6 (4) ◽

pp. 1684

Author(s):

Arulprasad Radjasegarane ◽

Anandaraj Rajagopal ◽

Prakash Mathiyalagen ◽

Kavita Vasudevan

Keyword(s):

Young Child ◽

Dietary Diversity ◽

Feeding Practices ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Child Feeding ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Young Child Feeding ◽

Child Feeding Practices ◽

Infant And Young Child ◽

One Year

Background: Optimal infant and young child feeding practices (IYCF) are essential to address the increasing burden of malnutrition and for the overall development of the children. The present study was conducted to estimate the proportion of optimal infant and young child feeding practices among rural children aged 0 to 23 months and study the associated socio demographic factors.Methods: A community based cross-sectional study was conducted among 360 children in the age group of 0 to 23 months in a rural field practice area of a medical college in Puducherry. Data on IYCF practices were collected using a standardized tool developed by WHO. Core and optional IYCF indicators were calculated. Chi-square test and Fishers’ exact test were used as tests of significance.Results: Almost 88.0% of infants were initiated early on breastfeeding and 90.8% were exclusively breastfed for six months. Children who were continuously breastfed at one year and two years were 77.4% and 22.4% respectively. About 75.0% were introduced with solid or semisolid foods at 6 to 8 months of age. Among children aged 6 to 23 months, 77.3% had the recommended minimum dietary diversity, 81.3% had the minimum meal frequencies, while 57.7% received the minimum acceptable diet and only 39.4% consumed iron rich foods. Gender was significantly associated with the practice of continued breastfeeding at one year, adequate minimum dietary diversity and minimum meal frequency.Conclusions: The core and optional IYCF indicators were acceptably good in the initial six months of life but thereafter showed suboptimal levels, which should be emphasized among the mothers or primary care givers.

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