Awareness about breast feeding practices and vitamin A deficiency among mothers in Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh, South India

Authors

  • Vasantha Rao Sappati Ophthalmic Officer, Rajam, Srikakulam, India
  • Sannapaneni Krishnaiah L. V. Prasad Eye Institute, Hyderabad, India
  • Suneetha Sapur Akshaya Foundation, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20211756

Keywords:

Vitamin A deficiency, Knowledge, Awareness, Practice, Breast feeding, Andhra Pradesh

Abstract

Background: To assess the awareness about breast feeding practices and to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice about the signs and symptoms of vitamin A deficiency (VAD) and vitamin A rich foods intake among mothers of children below 5 years in the Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh (AP) in South India.

Methods: A population based cross-sectional study was conducted on 284 mothers (age range 14 to 36 years) during June 2011 and September 2011. A combined simple and systematic random sampling strategy was used to select mothers from one tribal, rural and semi urban area with a representative sample of the Srikakulam district. A standardized structured questionnaire that was developed and validated by the National institute of nutrition, Hyderabad was utilized for this study.

Results: The awareness of vitamin A and night blindness was 68.7% (95% confidence intervals (CI): 62.9–74.0) (n=195) and 93.7% (95% CI: 90.2–96.2) (n=266) respectively. The knowledge of signs and symptoms of vitamin A deficiency (VAD) was nil among illiterate mothers and low among literates; with primary education, adjusted odds ratio (OR): 0.01 (95% CI: 0.00, 0.06) and with secondary education, OR: 0.19 (95% CI: 0.06, 0.62) compared to mothers with graduation and above.

Conclusions: There is a need to increase the awareness and knowledge about VAD among mothers with children below 5 years in the southern state of AP.

References

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Wilson EM, Imdad A, Herzer K, Yahoob MY, Bhutta ZA. Vitamin A supplements for preventing mortality, illness, and blindness in children aged under 5. Syst Rev Meta-analysis. 2011;343:d5094.

National Family Health Survey, Ministry of health and Family Welfare. 2007. Available at: http://rchiips.org/nfhs/nfhs3.shtml. Accessed on 24 January 2021.

National Nutrition Monitoring Bureau. Diet and Nutritional Status of rural population (2005-2006). National Institute of Nutrition. Indian Council of Medical Research. 2006.

Mahmood SE, Srivastava A, Shrotriya UP. Infant feeding practices in the rural population of north India. J Fam Comm Med. 2012;19(2):130-5.

Khattak AZ, Khattak S, Khan H, Ashiq B, Mohammad D, Rafiq M. Prevalence of Asymptomatic Bacteriuria in Pregnant women. Pak J Med Sci. 2006;22(2):162-6.

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Published

2021-04-27

How to Cite

Sappati, V. R., Krishnaiah, S., & Sapur, S. (2021). Awareness about breast feeding practices and vitamin A deficiency among mothers in Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh, South India. International Journal Of Community Medicine And Public Health, 8(5), 2346–2354. https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20211756

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Section

Original Research Articles