ABSTRACT

This cross-sectional descriptive study was designed to determine the Maternal Knowledge on infant and young child feeding practices among mothers with infants (6-12 month) attending post-natal clinics in Umuahia-North, Abia State. The descriptive cross-sectional study which was carried out in Umuahia-North Local Government Area involved 160 mothers with infants 6-12 months old attending post-natal clinics in October, 2023. Data on the background information and socio-economic characteristics of mothers and the maternal knowledge on infant and young child feeding were collected using a validated semi-structured questionnaire, the infant and young child feeding practices comprised of questions on the minimum dietary diversity. The questionnaire was self-administered to the mothers in the selected post-natal clinics who can read and write and interviewer administered to those who could not. The anthropometric measurement which includes weight and height of the infants was taken using standard procedures. The data on anthropometric measurements of the infants was analyzed using the WHO anthro software. Descriptive statistics such as frequency and percentage was used to analyze data on background information and socio-demographic characteristics of the mothers, the minimum dietary diversity of the infants, the maternal knowledge on infant and young child feeding (IYCF), and all descriptive statistics were presented in percentage (%), mean, standard deviation, median and frequency. Pearson correlation was used to analyze the relationship between socio-economic characteristics of the mothers, maternal knowledge, minimum dietary diversity and anthropometric status of the infants.The result showed that majority of the mothers (84.4%) were adult mothers. The result on the socio-economic characteristics of the mothers showed that 15.6% of the mothers had primary education, while 34.4% and 48.8% had secondary and tertiary education, respectively. Majority of the mothers (25.6%) earn between N51,000 and N70,000 per month. 96.3% of the mothers reported yes to ever breastfed their child, however, majority (63.1%) of the mothers gave their child something to drink other than breast milk. 58.1% of the children adhered to the recommended minimum dietary diversity guideline (that is, consumption of at least one vegetable, fruit, pulse/nut/seed, animal source food and starchy staple), while 41.9% of them had less than minimum dietary adherence. Majority (59.4%) of the mothers had a good knowledge on infant and young child feeding. More than half (68.1%, 64.4% and 73.1 %%) of the children were normal from the parameters of length-for-age, weight-for-length and weight-for-age respectively. here was a positive significant relationship (P < 0.05) between maternal knowledge and occupation of the mothers with a correlation (r = 0.188). There was a significant relationship (P < 0.05) between maternal knowledge and minimum dietary diversity of the under-five children, with a correlation (r = 0.165). There was a correlation between minimum dietary diversity (MDD) and weight for age of the under-five children. The correlation between MDD and weight for age of the under-five children was 0.194. Dietary diversity could affect the growth of children either positively or negatively which means that increase in one could lead to increase in the other and vice versa, therefore, nutritionists should enhance nutrition education for mothers and women of reproductive age on exclusive breastfeeding