Maternal autonomy but not social support is a predictor of child feeding indicators in the Northern Region, Ghana

Abstract

Background Child malnutrition may be mediated by poor infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices. This study sought to explore if maternal social support or autonomy was related to IYCF indicators in Northern Region, Ghana. Methods An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted with 395 randomly sampled mother–child pairs from 8 health facilities. Data were collected on socio-demographic characteristics, social support and autonomy statuses of mothers, and dietary intake and anthropometry of children. Maternal social support and autonomy statuses were derived and classified into tertiles and IYCF and child growth indicators were derived based on WHO protocol. Logistic regression analysis was used to explore the association of maternal social support and autonomy statuses to IYCF indicators and child nutritional status. Results The mean age of the women was 27 (± 5.10) years and most belonged to the lowest tertile of social support (52.4%), and autonomy (44.1%). About half of the children, 53.2% and 44.6%, received Minimum Dietary Diversity (MDD) and Minimum Acceptable Diet (MAD) respectively but the majority (72.9%) received Minimum Meal Frequency (MMF). About a fifth of the children, 21.0%, 24.1%, and 20.5%, were wasted, stunted, and underweight respectively. Maternal autonomy was associated with IYCF but not growth indicators of young children. Compared to children of mothers of richest autonomy tertile, children of women of middle autonomy tertile were 67% less likely to receive MDD [Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR): 0.33; 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 0.18–0.59], and 56% less likely to receive MAD (AOR: 0.44; 95% CI: 0.24–0.77). Also, children belonging to mothers of poorest autonomy tertile were 56% less likely to receive MMF compared to children of richest maternal autonomy tertile (AOR: 0.44; 95% CI: 0.23–0.84). Conclusion Maternal autonomy and not social support is associated with IYCF indicators of children in Northern Ghana; child survival programmes should incorporate or strengthen women empowerment interventions to improve child nutrition.

Women’s Autonomy and Anemia in Children under Five Years of Age: A Peruvian Population-Based Survey

“…As a main finding, it was found that women with a lower level of autonomy had a higher probability of having a child with anemia, which coincides with the results of studies carried out in Africa and Asia [22,51]. In contrast, evidence shows that women with a higher level of autonomy and financial stability tend to invest more in household nutrition, which translates into improved nutritional status and growth in children [16,[35][36][37]. In addition, it has been observed that the dimension of autonomy in health-related decisions is a key factor in obtaining positive nutritional outcomes in children [16,36].…”

“…The inclusion of covariables was made on the basis of previous studies that had evaluated the association of interest [16,[35][36][37]. Thus, the following variables were included: age of child (6-23, 24-35, 36-59), sex of child (male, female), age of mother (15-24, 25-34, 35-49), ethnicity (native, non-native), marital status (married, cohabiting), health insurance (yes, no), number of children (0, 1-3, 4-7), number of people in the household (0-4, 5 or more), area of residence (urban, rural), wealth quintile (poorest [Q1], poorer, middle, richer, richest [Q5]), natural region (Coast, Highlands, Jungle).…”