<strong>Introduction</strong><span><span><span style="font-family:;" "=""><span style="font-family:Verdana;">: Appropriate feeding and consequentl...<strong>Introduction</strong><span><span><span style="font-family:;" "=""><span style="font-family:Verdana;">: Appropriate feeding and consequently good nutritional status </span><span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">of young children largely depends on their caregivers. </span><b><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Aim</span></b><span style="font-family:Verdana;">: The current</span></span><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> study aimed at assessing maternal/caregivers’ current knowledge, attitudes, practices, and beliefs regarding different aspects of infant and young child feeding in Eastern and Central Uganda. </span><b><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Methodology</span></b><span style="font-family:Verdana;">: A cross-sectional survey design with mixed methods employing both qualitative and quantitative methods was used for data collection. </span><b><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Results</span></b><span style="font-family:Verdana;">: The study participants included 556 caregivers and 572 children. Results indicate that most caregivers (77%) were knowledgeable about key infant and young child feeding practices such as breastfeeding, complementary feeding and meal frequency. However, culture </span><span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">and economic hardships were</span><span style="color:red;"> </span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">a major barrier to the applicability of this</span></span><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> knowledge. Nearly all (98%) children were ever breastfed with 41% having been initiated on breast milk in the first hour after birth and 68% of all the children below 6 months exclusively breastfed. Three percent of the children aged 6 - 23 months were classified as having either Moderate (2%) or Severe (1%) Acute malnutrition. The median birth weight was 3.2</span></span></span></span><span><span><span style="font-family:;" "=""> </span></span></span><span><span><span style="font-family:;" "=""><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Kgs with nine percent of the children classified as underweight at birth. The majority (78%) of the children consumed foods from at least four food groups however only </span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">44% consumed heme-rich animal flesh food such as meat, poultry, organ</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> meats and fish, 29% consumed milk and milk products while only 11% consumed eggs. The barriers to improved nutritional status and health-seeking</span><span style="color:red;"> </span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">behaviour in children from both regions were largely similar. Some of these included cultural practices which prohibit children from eating certain foods and lack of drugs in the health facilities. Lack of male involvement was a key barrier to health-seeking behaviour and the nutritional well-being of children. Males were, however, more knowledgeable about the key childcare practices that are critical to positive outcomes because they listen to radios, have access to social media and usually congregate at bars where this information is disseminated and exchanged. </span><b><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Conclusion:</span></b><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> There should be continuous sensitization of mothers on the benefits of breastfeeding with special focus on early initiation and exclusive breastfeeding as well as child feeding practices during ill</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">ness. To increase protein intake in children 6 - 23 months, interventions </span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">aimed at increasing consumption of these vital nutrients such as promotion of nutrition-sensitive agricultural enterprises like rearing of small livestock and chickens should be emphasized. Consumption of these foods is critical, especially during pregnancy and infancy. Finally, male involvement in maternal and child feeding should be encouraged.</span></span></span></span>展开更多
文摘<strong>Introduction</strong><span><span><span style="font-family:;" "=""><span style="font-family:Verdana;">: Appropriate feeding and consequently good nutritional status </span><span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">of young children largely depends on their caregivers. </span><b><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Aim</span></b><span style="font-family:Verdana;">: The current</span></span><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> study aimed at assessing maternal/caregivers’ current knowledge, attitudes, practices, and beliefs regarding different aspects of infant and young child feeding in Eastern and Central Uganda. </span><b><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Methodology</span></b><span style="font-family:Verdana;">: A cross-sectional survey design with mixed methods employing both qualitative and quantitative methods was used for data collection. </span><b><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Results</span></b><span style="font-family:Verdana;">: The study participants included 556 caregivers and 572 children. Results indicate that most caregivers (77%) were knowledgeable about key infant and young child feeding practices such as breastfeeding, complementary feeding and meal frequency. However, culture </span><span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">and economic hardships were</span><span style="color:red;"> </span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">a major barrier to the applicability of this</span></span><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> knowledge. Nearly all (98%) children were ever breastfed with 41% having been initiated on breast milk in the first hour after birth and 68% of all the children below 6 months exclusively breastfed. Three percent of the children aged 6 - 23 months were classified as having either Moderate (2%) or Severe (1%) Acute malnutrition. The median birth weight was 3.2</span></span></span></span><span><span><span style="font-family:;" "=""> </span></span></span><span><span><span style="font-family:;" "=""><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Kgs with nine percent of the children classified as underweight at birth. The majority (78%) of the children consumed foods from at least four food groups however only </span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">44% consumed heme-rich animal flesh food such as meat, poultry, organ</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> meats and fish, 29% consumed milk and milk products while only 11% consumed eggs. The barriers to improved nutritional status and health-seeking</span><span style="color:red;"> </span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">behaviour in children from both regions were largely similar. Some of these included cultural practices which prohibit children from eating certain foods and lack of drugs in the health facilities. Lack of male involvement was a key barrier to health-seeking behaviour and the nutritional well-being of children. Males were, however, more knowledgeable about the key childcare practices that are critical to positive outcomes because they listen to radios, have access to social media and usually congregate at bars where this information is disseminated and exchanged. </span><b><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Conclusion:</span></b><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> There should be continuous sensitization of mothers on the benefits of breastfeeding with special focus on early initiation and exclusive breastfeeding as well as child feeding practices during ill</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">ness. To increase protein intake in children 6 - 23 months, interventions </span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">aimed at increasing consumption of these vital nutrients such as promotion of nutrition-sensitive agricultural enterprises like rearing of small livestock and chickens should be emphasized. Consumption of these foods is critical, especially during pregnancy and infancy. Finally, male involvement in maternal and child feeding should be encouraged.</span></span></span></span>
