Mothers’ Nutritional Knowledge, Infant Feeding Practices and Nutritional Status of Children (0-24 Months) in Lagos State, Nigeria
Journal Title: European Journal of Nutrition & Food Safety - Year 2014, Vol 4, Issue 4
Abstract
Aim: This study examined the nutritional knowledge, infant feeding practices of mothers and the nutritional status of children in Lagos State, Nigeria. Study Design: A cross sectional survey design was used. Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted in three selected Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Lagos state. The LGAs were Ikeja, Shomolu and Ikorodu representing urban, sub-urban and rural areas respectively. Methodology: A validated questionnaire and group interview was used as the instrument for data collection. Data was collected from 300 randomly selected mothers of children aged 0 months to 24 months, who visited three Government- owned childcare centres in Lagos State, Nigeria. Anthropometric indices were used to determine the children’s nutritional status. The data obtained from mothers were analyzed using simple percentage and frequency counts. Epi Info 6 was used to analyze the anthropometric data. Results: The findings indicated that the mothers’ nutritional knowledge as revealed by the test score was fairly good. Majority (75%) of the respondents breastfed their children but only 14.7% of the mothers practiced exclusive breast feeding for six months, while 43.3% of the mothers in addition to breast feeding, included complementary foods for their children at 4-6 months of age. About 16% of the mothers introduced complementary feeding and solid foods to their infants before 6 months of age. Occupation type was the most (45%) influential factor affecting breast feeding and appropriate complementary feeding practices. Also, 16.3% of the children were stunted while the prevalence of under-weight and wasting were 13% and 10% respectively. The chi-square test showed a statistically significant association (p<0.05) between mothers’ nutritional knowledge and the children’s nutritional status. Conclusion: These findings are of public health concern. It is therefore recommended that the duration of maternity leave should be increased. Women of child bearing age should be educated by trained nutritionists on the types of locally available foods that promote growth in children.
Authors and Affiliations
I. A. Akeredolu, J. O. Osisanya, J. S. Seriki-Mosadolorun, U. Okorafor
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP350369
- DOI 10.9734/EJNFS/2014/7604
- Views 95
- Downloads 0
A Simple Visual Model to Compare Existing Front-of-pack Nutrient Profiling Schemes
Nutrient profiling is an important tool for governments, non-governmental organizations (NGO’s) and for the food industry, to help consumers make healthier food choices. Multiple nutrient profiling systems (NPS) have bee...
Vitamin A Deficiency among School Going Adolescents in Rural Areas of Bareilly
Objective: 1. To find out the prevalence of Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) on the basis of presence of bitot’s spot and conjunctival xerosis among rural school going adolescents of District Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, India. 2....
Legal Structures of Food Safety in Europe
In view of the rapid increase in the globalisation of the economy, assuring food safety within the European Union is a challenge. The range and variety of foods on offer in Europe continue to rise steadily. The demands n...
From Dietary Guidelines to Dietary Guidance?
One challenge is to make food consumption healthful and sustainable. Tools to achieve this include science-based documented dietary advice (here: 'dietary guidelines'), and policy-based initiatives and legislation (here:...
The Nordic Monitoring of Diet, Physical Activity, Smoking, Alcohol and Overweight: 2011-2014
Background: The Nordic Plan of Action for better health and quality of life has been put forward by the Nordic Council of Ministers with the aim of reducing unhealthy lifestyles and overweight in the Nordic countries. Mo...