FEEDING PRACTICES IN CHILDREN LESS THAN 3YRS AGE AND ITS RELEVANT KNOWLEDGE AMONG YOUNG MOTHERS.

Abstract

ABSTRACT Background: It is necessary that parents are aware of the proper feeding practices for the benefit of their child’s heath status and immunity. Thus, time to time assessment should be done to find out the awareness of the parents at the given time and scenario so that necessary interventions can be carried out to educate the parents regarding healthy feeding practices. Objective: To gain information about the feeding practices currently undertaken by the mothers of children (aged less than three years) in some rural and urban localities of Rahim Yar Khan. Methodology: I Cross Sectional survey of 213 young mothers less than 35 years of age having at least one child of age below 3 years, who presented at Pediatrics outdoor indoor, Gynecology outdoor indoor and Vaccination center of Sheikh Zayed Hospital Rahim yar Khan Were selected through Convenient Sampling Data Collection & Analysis: Data was collected through a self-administered questionnaire & analyzed through a software SPSS. It contains statistical as well as graphical explanations. Results: This Cross Sectional survey was conducted amongst 213 female’s, Mothers Knowledge related to feeding practices of their children of less than 3 years of age has shown that 140(65.7%) mothers were Exclusive Breast Feeding their children and 130(61.0%) considered using Cow’s milk instead of formula Milk. 102 (47.9 %) introduced Solid food to their child at 6 months. Majority 119 (55.87%) were not aware of any food allergies or intolerances in their children and majority 91 (42.7%) believes in normal ways followed by 63 (29.6%) who use rewards to ensure their child takes meal. Another important finding is that 180 (84.5%) were allowing their child consume processed or fast food while 22 (10.3 %) were consuming it on daily basis while 114 (53.5 %) were not aware of the appropriate portion sizes for your child’s age and 158 (74.2%) were offering sugary snacks or desserts to your child. Conclusion: Initiation of breast feeding within one hour has shown improvement but still 40 % not knowing this basic knowledge. Moreover on one hand 80% were practicing addition of variety of protein sources and almost 100% believed in fruit consumption but at the same time more than 50% were not having idea of the portion size and almost 100% were allowing Processed or fast food consumption. These statistics emphasize comprehensive educational programs for the mothers. Future research can be focused on impact of educational programs on Nutritional practices: