| Tony N. Murithi (drtonynjoka@yahoo.com) |
| Department of Medicine, Moi University |
| December, 2009 |
Abstract |
| Background: Feeding practices play a pivotal role in determining good nutrition in children. The WHO guiding principles for complementary feeding of breastfed infants are used the world over as a guide on infant and young child feeding. Limited data from many parts of the world indicate that complementary feeding practices are suboptimal from several perspectives. In Kenya, infant and young child nutrition and feeding problems have been addressed to various extents by the adoption of IMCI and BFHI strategies in child health. Very little is known about infant feeding practices in rural Kenya. Acquiring a base-line of information on the existing infant feeding practices is important before any interventions are made. The 6-12months age is an especially vulnerable time because infants are just learning to eat and must be fed soft foods frequently and patiently. Objectives: To assess feeding practices in infants 6-12 months attending Child Welfare Clinic based on the WHO guidelines, and to determine their relationship with the characteristics of the mothers. Design: A cross-sectional descriptive study design. Setting: Longisa District Hospital and Tenwek Mission Hospital in Bomet district. Study Population: Infants aged 6-12 months and their mothers attending CWC at Longisa and Tenwek hospitals. Methods: Interviewer-administered questionnaires were employed to collect data from 262 infant-mother pairs as they attended CWC over six months beginning July 2007. Data management and analysis: Data collected was processed and entered in access database. Statistical analysis was carried out using software SPSS VI20. A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: 96.5% of infants studied were breastfeeding until the infants were aged two years or beyond. Exclusive breastfeeding until 6 months of age was low (25.6%). Mean age of introduction of complementary foods was 4.6 months. Cereals, legumes and mashed starches were the commonly used complementary foods. Frequency of complementary food servings was adequate Conclusions: Adherence to the WHO infant feeding recommendations was suboptimal among CWC attendees at Longisa and Tenwek hospitals in Bomet. Recommendations: More emphasis should be put to teach mothers in Bomet on the WHO infant feeding recommendations, and easy to follow recipes for complementary foods should be developed based on the identified local food types. Education for the girl child should be supported and enhanced. |
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