KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDES AND PRACTICES OF COMPLEMENTARY FEEDING AMONG MOTHERS OF CHILDREN AGED BETWEEN 6 AND 24 MONTHS IN RULINDO DISTRICT, RWANDA

Abstract

Abstract

Complementary Feeding (CF) is vital for infant growth and health. Improper timing of CF introduction can lead to increased health issues and nutritional deficiencies in young children. This study assessed the knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding CF among mothers of children aged 6 to 24 months in Rulindo District, Tare Health Center catchment area. A cross-sectional research design was used and data was collected from 227 households having children aged between 6 and 24 months. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire and focused group discussion to capture appropriate information for the study. Primary data collected was analysed using SPSS and presented using frequency tables. Data was further analyzed using frequencies and chi-square statistics to measure the association between the study variables. The study revealed that positive knowledge on Complementary feeding high is 107(73.8%), moderate Knowledge is 20(13.8%) and Poor is 18(12.8%), Positive attitude finding is 73(50.3%), Neutral is 57(39.3), Negative is 15(10.3%), for Practice about Complementary feeding finding shows is good 95 (65%), Moderate is 37(25%) and Poor is 15(9%).  The findings on the first objective revealed that the majority of the mothers, 60(66.7%) indicated that the best weaning age for infants is 24 months and only 8.9% said at the age of six months. The mother’s knowledge was highly significant (χ^2=83.561, p=0.000) in determining the timely initiation of complementary feeding practices since the p-value was less than the 5% threshold. It was also found that the mother’s knowledge significantly associated with breastfeeding duration and with the adequate dietary intake among children aged between 6 and 24 months. The results regarding the second specific objective showed that the majority of the mothers (79.5%) said they that breast milk alone is sufficient for a child healthy diet for the first 6 months. Most of the mothers (53.8%) said they could still continue with breast milk because it is beneficial to the child. Sex/gender of a child is not a factor in determining which foods to give the child. The mother’s attitude only has a statistical significance (χ^2=8.409, p=0.015) on adequate dietary intake for children aged between 6 and 24 months. The findings on the third objective found that majority of the mothers (41.3%) indicated their children had taken solid, semi-solid or soft food last 24 hours. The majority selected sorghum (84.4%) and maize (80.0%) as energy-giving food while 60.0% said that the meal was administered to the infants three times a day. The mother’s feeding practices do not influence the timely initiation of CF, nor the dietary intake among the children aged between 6 and 24 months. However, the mother’s feeding practices (χ^2=5.891, p=0.038) were significantly associated with breastfeeding duration for children aged between 6 and 24 months. The study concludes that the mother’s or the primary caregiver’s knowledge on breastfeeding and complementary feeding plays a key role in CF practices. It is imperative for the government, non-governmental organizations, public health workers, health centres and the community at large to work together to improve young mother’s knowledge, attitudes and feeding practices for a better and healthy nation.