ABSTRACT

The study assessed appropriate complementary feeding practices and anthropometric status of children 6-23months in Umuahia South Local Government Area, Abia State. A community based cross sectional survey involving 160 children was randomly selected from Ubakala primary health care and Agbama primary health care, Umuahia South LGA, was conducted using multi-stage sampling technique. Information on household socio-demographic characteristics, complementary feeding practices, 24-hour dietary intake and anthropometric status of children were obtained using a structured questionnaire. Complementary feeding practices were assessed based on WHO indicators for appropriate complementary feeding practices; Introduction of solid, semi-solid or soft food (ISSS); Minimum dietary diversity (MDD); Minimum milk feeding frequency (MMFF); Minimum acceptable diet (MAD) while anthropometric indices were analyzed using WHO Anthro. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics of frequencies, percentages and Chi-square and significant association at p < 0.05. Mothers’ socio-economic characteristics showed that 43.1% of mothers were aged between 31-35years. The lowest proportion of mothers were in the category below 20years (0.6%). Majority (98.8%) of mothers were married. More than half (80.6%) of the mothers had tertiary education, while 22.5% had secondary education. More than half of the mothers had about 4-6 children. About 7.5% were students, while 18.7% were civil servants. About 48.8% earned monthly income of N31,000.00 - N50.999.99. There were more males (54.4%) than females (45.6%) infants. About 21.9% of children were in the group of 6-8months, 38.1% were in the group of 9-11 months, 38.8% were in the group of 12-18 months and 1.3% were in the group of 19-23months. More than half of the mothers (64.4%) exclusively breastfed their children, while 35.6% did not. Some (33.8%) of the mothers introduced solid foods when the child was less than 6months, 52.5% introduced solid food at the age of 6 months while 13.8% introduced solid food when the child was more than 6 months. There was a significant association (P = < 0.05) between the age ranges in months. A significant association (P = < 0.05) was found between adequate feeding practices and sex of child (0.030), children exclusively breastfed (P = 0.005), age of introduction of complementary food (˂ 6 months) 33.8%, (6 months) 52.5%, (˃ 6 months) 13.8% and father's level of education (P = 0.005). Therefore, intervention strategies such as educating mothers about the need for exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months of life and complementary feeding from 6 to 23 months, is mandatory particularly at the grassroots to ensure optimal nutrition for children aged two and below.