Infant and young child feeding knowledge and practices among mothers of under-5 children in Nadia district, West Bengal: a cross-sectional study

Authors

  • Rakhi Saha Institute of Public Health Kalyani, Kalyani, West Bengal, India
  • Jayita Pal Department of Epidemiology, All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
  • Manoj Ghosh Centre for Integrative Medicine and Research, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20241847

Keywords:

Behaviour, Caregiver, Eastern India, Nutrition, Preschool children, Perception

Abstract

Background: Age-appropriate infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practice (exclusive breastfeeding till 6 months and adequate diet in a child aged 6-24 months i.e. age-appropriate number of food groups in sufficient amount and age-appropriate number of meals per day) and maintenance of hygiene are of paramount importance to promote child growth and survival. Despite several guidelines, IYCF remains an unsolved issue in the background of the significantly high proportion of malnutrition as well as under-five mortalities globally as well as in India. The current study aimed to assess the knowledge and practices related to IYCF among mothers and to find out the predictors of the same in a rural area of West Bengal.

Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 351 mothers of under-five children in Nadia district, west Bengal with the help of a pre-designed and pre-tested semi-structured schedule. Multi-stage random sampling was done. Data were entered into MS Excel and analysed in the SPSS 21.0 version.

Results: The study found that the majority (49.3% and 74.5% respectively) had an average knowledge and practice score related to infant and young child feeding. Bivariate analyses revealed that the mothers having educational levels more than higher-secondary had higher odds of good IYCF knowledge; also those who had experienced "ASHA’s home visit within one month" had higher odds of good IYCF practice.

Conclusions: Adequate and consistent implementation of existing government policies can bridge the gap of knowledge and thereby practice of infant and young child feeding.

Metrics

Metrics Loading ...

References

UNICEF DATA; 2024. Child Mortality. Available from: https://data.unicef.org/topic/child-survival/under-five-mortality/. Accessed 04 May 2024.

Child mortality (under 5 years); 2024. Available from: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/levels-and-trends-in-child-under-5-mortality-in-2020. Accessed 04 May 2024.

UNICEF DATA; 2024. Malnutrition in Children. Available from: https://data.unicef.org/topic/ nutrition/malnutrition./ Accessed 04 May 2024.

India; 2023. Available from: http://rchiips.org/nfhs/NFHS-5_FCTS/India.pdf. Accessed 05 June 2023.

Journey_of_The_First_1000_Days; 2024. Available from: https://nhm.gov.in/images/pdf/programmes/ RBSK/Resource_Documents/Journey_of_The_First_1000_Days.pdf. Accessed 04 May 2024.

Home-Based-Care-for-Young-Child-Guidelines; 2023. Available from: https://www.aspirational districts.in/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Home-Based-Care-for-Young-Child-Guidelines.pdf. Accessed 25 June 2023.

9147562941489753121; 2024. Available from: https://main.mohfw.gov.in/sites/default/files/9147562941489753121.pdf. Accessed 04 May 2024

Revised HBNC Operational Guidelines; 2014 English; 2024. Available from: https://nhsrcindia.org/sites/default/files/2021-03/Revised%20HBNC%20Operational%20Guidelines%202014%20English.pdf. Accessed 04 May 2024.

WB_FactSheet_336_Nadia; 2023. Available from: http://rchiips.org/nfhs/FCTS/WB/WB_FactSheet_336_Nadia.pdf. Accessed 25 June 2023.

Dasgupta A, Naiya S, Ray S, Ghosal A, Pravakar R, Ram P. Assessment of infant and young child feeding practices among the mothers in a slum area of Kolkata: A cross-sectional study. Int J Biol Med Res. 2014;5(1):3855-61.

Fautsch Macías Y, Glasauer P. Guidelines for assessing nutrition-related knowledge, attitudes and practices: KAP manual. Rome: FAO; 2014: 180 p.

Indicators for assessing infant and young child feeding practices: definitions and measurement methods; 2023. Available from: https://www.who.int/publications-detail-redirect/9789240018389. Accessed 25 June 2023.

Godkar P, Sriram N. A Descriptive Study to Assess Child Nutrition and Health Information Related Knowledge among Mothers of Under Six Years Children in Selected Areas of Dadra & Nagar Haveli. Int J Multidiscip Res. 2023;5(2).

Patali CS. A Descriptive Study to Assess the Knowledge of Mothers Regarding the Nutrition for Under Five Children in Selected Areas of Bagalkot with a View to Develop a Self Instructional Module. JOJ Nurs Amp Health Care. 2018;7(3).

Chand R, Kumar A, Singh N, Vishwakarma S. Knowledge, attitude and practices about complementary feeding among mothers of children aged 6 to 24 months in tertiary care centre of Kumaun region. Int J Contemp Pediatr. 2018;5:2142.

Das N, Chattopadhyay D, Chakraborty S, Dasgupta A. Infant and Young Child Feeding Perceptions and Practices among Mothers in a Rural Area of West Bengal, India. Ann Med Health Sci Res. 2013;3(3):370-5.

Chakraborty B, Bhattacherjee S, Ray K, Mukherjee A. Infant and Young Child Feeding Practices among Tribal Population of a Tea Estate in Darjeeling District, West Bengal, India. J Compr Health. 2017;5(2):29–38.

Uppiretla SB, Mishra SK, Rachakulla HK. Infant feeding practices among mothers in rural Rajamahendravaram, Andhra Pradesh. Int J Community Med Public Health. 2019;6(5):2121.

Downloads

Published

2024-06-28

How to Cite

Saha, R., Pal, J., & Ghosh, M. (2024). Infant and young child feeding knowledge and practices among mothers of under-5 children in Nadia district, West Bengal: a cross-sectional study. International Journal Of Community Medicine And Public Health, 11(7), 2839–2846. https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20241847

Issue

Section

Original Research Articles