Infant and young child feeding practices and nutritional status of children (0-24 months) in Egor Local Government Area of Edo State, Nigeria

Abstract

Background: About half of all child deaths have been associated with under-nutrition. Optimal infant and young child feeding (IYCF) is a key area to improve child survival and promote healthy growth and development.

Objective: This study determined the IYCF practices and nutritional status of children (0 - 24 months) in Egor local government area (LGA) of Edo State, Nigeria.

Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out in Edaiken community in Egor LGA. Four hundred and eighteen mother and child pairs were selected by multi-stage sampling technique. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data on the socio-demographic characteristics, health facilities, breastfeeding and complementary feeding practices. Nutritional status was assessed using the WHO Anthro software while univariate and bivariate analysis of data were performed using the IBM Statistical package for the social sciences software version 20.

Results: About 44.5% of the respondents practiced early initiation of breastfeeding while 36.6% practiced exclusive breastfeeding. Most (85.6%) mothers stopped breastfeeding between 13-18 months, 49.9% initiated complementary foods at 6months. The mean duration of breastfeeding was 15.1± 2.3months. Maternal education and age were significantly associated (p = 0.038 and 0.016, respectively) with timely initiation of complementary food. The underweight and stunting rates were 15% and 39%, respectively. The children’s age and sex were significantly associated with underweight.

Conclusion: Some of the respondents practiced early initiation of exclusive breastfeeding and timely introduction of complementary foods. Nutritional education at the community level should be embarked upon by the local health authority to improve these practices.

Keywords: Infant, young child, feeding practices, nutritional status