Improving infant and young child feeding practices will help South Asian countries achieve the Millennium Development Goal of reducing child mortality. This paper aims to compare key indicators of complementary feeding and their determinants in children aged 6-23 months across five South Asian countries - Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The latest Demographic and Health Survey and National Family Health Survey India data were used. The analyses were confined to last-born children aged 6-23 months - 1728 in Bangladesh, 15,028 in India, 1428 in Nepal, 2106 in Sri Lanka and 443 infants aged 6-8 months in Pakistan. Introduction of solid, semi-solid or soft foods, minimum dietary diversity, minimum meal frequency and minimum acceptable diet, and their significant determinants were compared across the countries. Minimum dietary diversity among children aged 6-23 months ranged from 15% in India to 71% in Sri Lanka, with Nepal (34%) and Bangladesh (42%) in between. Minimum acceptable diet among breastfed children was 9% in India, 32% in Nepal, 40% in Bangladesh and 68% in Sri Lanka. The most consistent determinants of inappropriate complementary feeding practices across all countries were the lack of maternal education and lower household wealth. Limited exposure to media, inadequate antenatal care and lack of post-natal contacts by health workers were among predictors of inappropriate feeding. Overall, complementary feeding practices among children aged 6-23 months need improvement in all South Asian countries. More intensive interventions are necessary targeting the groups with sup-optimal practices, while programmes that cover entire populations are being continued.

Suboptimal and inappropriate complementary feeding practices are one of the major causes of child undernutrition in the first 2 years of life in South Asian countries including Bangladesh. The aim of this study was to use the newly developed World Health Organization infant feeding indicators to identify the potential risk factors associated with inappropriate complementary feeding practices. We used data for 1728 children aged 6-23 months obtained from nationally representative data from the 2007 Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey to assess the association between complementary feeding and other characteristics using multivariate models. Only 71% of infants were consuming soft, semi-solid and solid food by 6-8 months of age. In the multivariate analysis, mothers who had no education had a higher risk for not introducing timely complementary feeds [adjusted odds ratio (AOR)=2.14; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.08-4.23, P=0.03], not meeting the minimum dietary diversity (AOR=1.69; 95% CI: 1.14-2.54, P=0.01), minimum acceptable diet (AOR=1.70, 95% CI: 1.09-2.67, P=0.02) and minimum meal frequency (AOR=1.73; 95% CI: 1.20-2.49, P=0.003) than the mothers who had secondary or higher education. Infants born in Sylhet, Chittagong and Barisal division had higher risks for not meeting minimum dietary diversity, meal frequency and acceptable diet (P<0.001). The poorest two quintiles had poor levels of minimum meal frequency but dietary quality improved with age. In Bangladesh addressing the fourth Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target will require substantial improvement in complementary feeding practices. Appropriate Infant and Young Child feeding massages should to be development and delivered through existing health system.

Objective To investigate the impact of zinc supplementation in children with cholera.

Background/Objectives: Low birth weight (LBW), defined as the body weight at birth of less than 2500 g, is a major public health problem in Bangladesh, where 37% of the babies are born with LBW. The objective of this study is to see the impact of nutrition education on growth of LBW babies with early initiation and exclusive breastfeeding compared to control group. Subjects/Methods: A total of 184 LBW babies and their mothers who attended the Maternal Care and Health Training Institute and Dhaka Medical College Hospital were randomly allocated to either intervention or control group. Enrollment of the study population started in May 2008 and was completed in October 2008. Nutrition education was given to mothers twice weekly for 2 months, on initiation of breastfeeding within 1 h, exclusive breastfeeding and increasing their dietary intake. Nutritional status of LBW babies was assessed for length and weight every 2 weeks. Data were analyzed using SPSS/Window's version 12.Comparison of mean of data was done using standard Student's t-test. Results: Mean initial body weight and length of LBW babies were similar in both groups (2261 ± 198 g vs 2241 ± 244 g, P ¼ 0.535 and 43.0±1.3 cm vs 43.0±1.7 cm, P ¼ 0.77). Body weight and length of the LBW babies after 2 months increased significantly (3620 ± 229 g vs 3315 ± 301 g, Po0.001 and 50.2 ± 1.3 cm vs 48.7 ± 1.6 cm, Po0.001). It was found that the intervention group suffered less from respiratory illness compared with the control group (39% vs 66%, Po0.001). The rate of early initiation of breastfeeding was also significantly higher with nutrition intervention (59.8% vs 37.2%, Po0.001). Exclusive breastfeeding rate was significantly higher in intervention group (59.8% vs 37%, P ¼ 0.003). Conclusions: The present study showed that weight and length gain of LBW babies significantly increased by breastfeeding and nutrition education. Therefore, nutrition education on breastfeeding proves to be a strong tool to reduce the high risk of malnutrition and mortality of the LBW babies.

This study aimed to evaluate the impact of peer counselling on early initiation of breastfeeding (EIBF) and exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) rates for mother–infant pairs living in urban slums, Dhaka, Bangladesh. This randomized controlled trial enrolled 350 mother–infant pairs from selected slums between September 2014 and July 2016. The women assigned to intervention group received peer counselling from locally recruited, trained community female volunteers starting in third trimester of pregnancy until 6 months after delivery; control group received no intervention. EIBF, any liquids given after birth, and EBF were compared between groups. Follow‐up was scheduled at enrolment, following childbirth, and every 2 months up to 6 months after delivery. Multiple logistic regressions were used to assess the effect peer counselling and other associated factors on EIBF and EBF practices. EIBF rate was higher in the intervention group than in the control group (89.1% vs. 77.4%, p = .005). More mothers in intervention group were exclusively breastfeeding at 5 months than mothers in the control group (73% vs. 27%, p < .005). Control mothers were twice as likely to not practice EIBF compared with intervention mothers (adjusted odds risk [aOR]: 2.53, CI [1.29, 4.97], p = .007). Overall, caesarean section was associated with an 8.9‐fold higher risk of not achieving EIBF (aOR: 8.90, CI [4.05, 19.55], p < .001). Intervention mothers were 5.10‐fold more likely to practice EBF compared with control mothers (aOR: 5.10, CI [2.89, 9.01], p < .001) at 5 months. This study demonstrates peer counselling can positively influence both EIBF and EBF among mothers living in urban area.