Socio-cultural factors and beliefs affecting complementary feeding and hygiene practice among mothers with children 6-24 months in aba north L.G.A:-Iwundu, Abuoma A

ABSTRACT Complementary feeding is an important determinant of child growth and development. There is a decline in the practice of proper introduction of complementary foods, despite efforts at all levels to improve it; and with globalization, there is concern of possible drift in the traditional practices of complementary feeding among these mothers. The general objective of this study is to assess the socio-cultural factors and beliefs affecting complementary feeding and hygiene practice among mothers with children 6-24 months. A cross-sectional design was used in this study. Data was collected using semi-structured and validated questionnaires with closed and open-ended questions, whereby some ofthe mothers were interviewed using both the open ended and closed-ended questions. These data were collected from Mothers with a sample size of 260 using multi staged sampling, method. From the results 97.3% of the respondents were living with their partners . while 60% of the respondents had tertiary education. Many mothers believed that complementary feeding should begin once the child starts teething, while some said that ifthe baby cries all the time, it shows that the breast milk is no longer enough, hence the introduction of complementary feeding. Only 15.4% of mothers could specify that complementary feeding starts from six months, which shows the impact ofsocio-cultural factors or family patterns among these mothers. The study revealed that 65.8% of mothers denied their children eating egg. meat organs or fish as part of their belief. From the open-ended questions, some mothers stated that some foods like snail meat, snake meat are prohibited for infants. The open-ended questions also revealed that many mothers preferred pap with milk and soya bean as an appropriate complementary feeding, while some mothers specified eba and soup for their infants. From the results, most (84.6%) ofthe mothers had improper complementary feeding initiation. This study also revealed the hygiene practice ofthese mothers; above half (65.4%) ofthe mothers were aware of using soap and water to wash their hands after toilet use and practice it. on the contrary. 34.6% of the mothers were aware but do not practice the use ofsoap and water after using the toilet. In conclusion findings of this study further affirm the fact that mothers' perception of the ideal age for the introduction ol complementary feeding relates with their socio-cultural beliefs and personal belief or what they have been told, such as denving the children protein sources ol food such as egg, fish, meat etc, of which in turn affects the child's nutritional status. Recommendations from the study include providing public health education campaigns to promote optimal complementary feeding practices, especially among women within the reproductive age group. A health education program should be conducted to enlighten mothers, community leaders and traditional rulers on the effect ol socio-cultural factors on complementary feeding and hygiene practice.