Infant feeding practices among mildly wasted children: a retrospective study on Nias Island, Indonesia

Abstract

BackgroundThis study investigated the infant feeding practices of participating mothers who were recruited into a research project aimed at improving the nutritional status of mildly wasted children (< -1.0 to ≥ -1.5 Weight-for-Height Z-scores) aged ≥ 6 to < 60 months on Nias Island, Indonesia.MethodsCross-sectional, questionnaire-based interview of mothers of the index children (n = 215) who were admitted to the community program for mildly wasted children in the study area. Four focus groups and twenty in-depth interviews were conducted to explore further information on infant feeding practices in the study area.ResultsRetrospective results indicated that 6% of the mothers never breastfed. Fifty two percent of mothers initiated breastfeeding within six hours of birth, but 17% discarded colostrum. Exclusive breastfeeding until 6 months of age was practiced by 12%. Seventy-four percent of the mothers offered supplementary liquids besides breast milk within the first 7 days of life, and 14% of infants received these supplementary liquids from 7 days onwards until 6 months of age. Moreover, 79% of the infants were given complementary foods (solid, semi-solid, or soft foods) before 6 months of age. About 9% of the children were breastfed at least two years. Less than one in five of the mildly wasted children (19%) were breastfed on admission to the community program. Qualitative assessments found that inappropriate infant feeding practices were strongly influenced by traditional beliefs of the mothers and paternal grandmothers in the study areas.ConclusionGenerally, suboptimal infant feeding was widely practiced among mothers of mildly wasted children in the study area on Nias Island, Indonesia. To promote breastfeeding practices among mothers on Nias Island, appropriate nutrition training for community workers and health-nutrition officers is needed to improve relevant counseling skills. In addition, encouraging public nutrition education that promotes breastfeeding, taking into account social-cultural factors such as the influence of paternal grandmothers on infant feeding practice, is needed.

Introduction of Complementary Foods to Infants within the First Six Months and Associated Factors in Rural Communities of JimmaArjo

“…Similarly in-depth interview findings showed that breast milk alone may be not sufficient to meet nutritional requirement of infants. This finding is consistent with the findings from Brazil and Indonesia were mothers introduced additional food for they believed that breast milk is not sufficient to meet nutritional need of infants [19,20].…”

Timely Initiation of Complementary Feeding and Associated Factors among Children Aged 6 to 12 Months in Addis Ababa Ethiopia, 2015

“…This might be due to mothers who delivered in health institution would get advice and counseling on breast feeding and complementary feeding practices by health professionals. Though, some other findings revealed that being older age and higher maternal education is favorable to initiate complementary feeding timely [18,22,24] in this study there was no significant association.…”

Riwayat pemberian ASI eksklusif dan MPASI dini sebagai prediktor terjadinya stunting pada baduta di Kabupaten Timor Tengah Selatan, Nusa Tenggara Timur

“…Secara nasional, pemberian ASI eksklusif sampai umur 4-5 bulan mencapai 31% (12). Proporsi pemberian ASI eksklusif lebih kecil ditemukan di Pulau Nias sebesar 12% (13). Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan persentase pemberian MPASI dini sebesar 36,8%.…”