Assessment of Caregiver’s Knowledge, Complementary Feeding Practices, and Adequacy of Nutrient Intake from Homemade Foods for Children of 6–23 Months in Food Insecure Woredas of Wolayita Zone, Ethiopia

Abstract

Complementary feeding should fill the gap in energy and nutrients between estimated daily needs and amount obtained from breastfeeding from 6-month onward. However, homemade complementary foods are often reported for inadequacy in key nutrients despite reports of adequacy for energy and proteins. The aim of this study was to assess caregiver’s complementary feeding knowledge, feeding practices, and to evaluate adequacy daily intakes from homemade complementary foods for children of 6–23 months in food insecure woredas of Wolayita zone, Ethiopia. A cross-sectional study assessing mothers/caregiver’s knowledge and complementary feeding practice, adequacy of daily energy, and selected micronutrient intakes using weighed food record method. Multi-stage cluster sampling method was also used to select 68 households. Caregivers had good complementary feeding knowledge. Sixty (88.2%) children started complementary feeding at 6 months and 48 (70.6%) were fed three or more times per day. Daily energy intake, however, was significantly lower (p < 0.05) than estimated daily needs, with only 151.25, 253.77, and 364.76 (kcal/day) for 6–8, 9–11, and 12–23 months, respectively. Similarly, Ca and Zn intakes (milligrams per day) were below the daily requirements (p = 0.000), with value of 37.76, 0.96; 18.83, 1.21; 30.13, 1.96; for the 6–8, 9–11, and 12–23 months, respectively. Significant shortfall in daily intake of Fe (p = 0.000) was observed among the 6–8 and 9–11 months (3.25 and 4.17 mg/day, respectively), even accounting for high bioavailability. The complementary foods were energy dense. Daily energy, Ca, Zn, and Fe (except 12–23 months) intake, however, was lower than estimated daily requirements.

Baby‐led complementary feeding: Randomized controlled study

“…Also, in that study, the majority of infants following traditional feeding were consuming formula . As a result, pediatricians should emphasize the importance of including iron‐rich food sources in infant diets in the complementary feeding period because of the well‐accepted challenges of achieving adequate iron intake at this age, regardless of whether BLW or TSF is being followed …”

“…16 As a result, pediatricians should emphasize the importance of including iron-rich food sources in infant diets in the complementary feeding period because of the well-accepted challenges of achieving adequate iron intake at this age, regardless of whether BLW or TSF is being followed. [27][28][29][30] According to parental report, there was no difference between the two groups in the incidence of choking (BLW, n = 2; TSF, n = 3). The foods that had caused the incident were raw apple (n = 2) and raw carrot (n = 3).…”

Breast and complementary feeding in Ethiopia: new national evidence from systematic review and meta-analyses of studies in the past 10 years

“…After removing duplicates and screening of titles and articles, 83 studies were selected for full-text review. Eleven primary studies on late initiation of breastfeeding, duration/cessation of exclusive breastfeeding, early initiation of complementary feeding, prelacteal feeding and breastfeeding measurements tools [29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39] and two project reviews [40,41] were excluded from the final analysis.…”

“…These articles were published between the years 2007 and 2016. Seven studies were conducted in Amhara region [32][33][34][35][36][37][38], two studies in Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region (SNNPR) [30,31], one study in Oromia region [29] and one study in Amhara, Oromia, SNNPR and Tigray regions [38]. Two studies have used EDHS-based data [32,34], eight studies were conducted in urban and rural setting, 10 studies were interviewer administered and one study was prospective study [34].…”

Assessment of the knowledge and attitude of infants’ mothers from Bushehr (Iran) on food security using anthropometric indicators in 2016: a cross-sectional study

“…In addition, a study conducted in Boroujerd (Iran) reported that the knowledge of mothers regarding complementary feeding was 61% and satisfactory [ 24 ]. A study conducted in Ethiopia by Abeshu et al [ 33 ] reported an appropriate maternal knowledge of food security in supplemental nutrition.…”