Maternal Psychosocial care and Child feeding practices

Abstract

Introduction: Psychosocial care is the process by which caregivers meet the needs of infants in terms of adequate nutrition, emotional, social, mental and healthcare for promoting healthy growth and development. This study, therefore, aimed to assess the influence of psychosocial care during complementary feeding among mothers.

Methodology: It was a cross-sectional design, and the sample size was statistically calculated to arrive at 385 mothers. A structured and self-administered questionnaire collected information on socio-economic status and psychosocial care during complementary feeding practices. WHO feeding indicators were used to assess the feeding practices of the mothers. Data were analysed using both descriptive statistics and inferential statistics.

Results: The study showed that 52.1% of respondents were between 20 and 29 years old, 88.1% were married, and others were single or divorced mothers. The feeding indicator showed that 21.5% of respondents met the Minimum Adequate Diet. Half of the respondents (50%) monitored the amount of food consumed by the children, while 12.4% encouraged the children to finish the food served. There was an insignificant relationship between maternal psychosocial care and complementary feeding practices (χ2; p>0.05), whereas there was a significant association between maternal psychosocial care and maternal age (χ²; p=0.043) as well as religion (χ²; p=0.031).

Conclusion: The study concluded that mothers who had advanced in age had better maternal psychosocial care during complementary feeding than the younger mothers. Therefore, maternal nutrition education on complementary feeding and care during infants’ feeding should be encouraged during antenatal and post-natal clinics.