Assessment Of Feeding Practices And The Nutritional Status Of Children Aged 0 -36 Months In Yatta Division, Kitui District
Abstract
MaInutrition is a multifaceted problem and among the underlying causes is infant and
young child feeding practices+ The low rate of exclusive breast feeding for six months is
a contributor to the future health status of children.
This is a cross sectional study aimed at establishing the relationship between infant and
young child feeding practices and maternal, child and households factors, and the
nutritional status of children aged 0-36 months in Yatta Division, Kitui District - Kenya.
Informationwas collected using structured questionare and focus group discussion
guidelines,and included information on socio demographic features, feeding practices
and anthropometric measurements of the children.
A total of340 mothers (with children aged 0 -36 months) were interviewed. Data was
analyzed using SPSS and CDC Anthro soft wares to determine relationship between
feedingpractices, their determinants and nutritional status of children aged 0 - 36 Months.
Majorityof children 265(78%) were on mixed feeding, 20.2% were predominantly breast
fed,while only 6 (1.8%) were exclusively breast fed, Breast feeding initiation was done
withinan hour after birth by 274 (80.7%) of mothers, and frequency of breast feeding
dependedon demand. Child related factors associated with feeding practices were age of
thechild, immunization status and attendance of growth monitoring clinics. Maternal
factorsassociated with feeding practices were age, parity and maternal access to
informationon feeding practices. Morbidity status was not significantly (p=O.172)
associatedwith feeding practices. It was also established that, grand mothers and siblings
re the principal alternative childcare givers.
In conclusion,the study established there is lack of nutritional knowledge on feeding
practicesamong the mothers. It was also established that, feeding practices of infant and
youngchildren are associated with child, maternal and health workers factors. Morbidity
statusis not associated with feeding practices and the nutritional status of children is not
associatedwith feeding practices.
It is recommended that, community nutrition strategy be established, headed by health
workersand all stakeholders in health sector, to promote proper feeding practices and
improvethe welfare of mothers. This partnership would establish the missing nutritional
knowledge,through community based programmes headed by health workers and
concernedstake holders, to create awareness on infant and young child feeding practices.
It is also recommended that, health workers be updated by the relevant departments on
infantfeeding policy in order to update their knowledge through continuous medical
education. It is also recommended that future research in this area should be conducted
takingcare of confounding effects.
Citation
MASTER OF PUBLIC HEALTH OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI, 2007Publisher
University of Nairobi,