Knowledge and Practices Among Mothers About Their Child's (6–24 Months) Nutrition

Abstract

A balanced diet is necessary for daily activity. Children are more likely to experience dietary deficiencies than adults. Mothers who are knowledgeable about nutrition can raise their kids in a healthy manner. Malnutrition among Bangladeshi children under the age of two is primarily caused by inappropriate complementary feeding practices. For a child to grow and develop properly, they must be breastfed exclusively for the first six months, followed by complementary feeding. The purpose of this study was to ascertain mothers' nutritional knowledge of children between the ages of 6 and 24 months. At the Dhaka Medical College Hospital, 120 willing mothers with children between the ages of 6 and 24 months participated in the study. Face-to-face interviews and a prepared questionnaire form were used to collect research data. Using SPSS, a statistical analysis was conducted. A total of 120 mothers and their babies participated in the study. Among them 69 (57.5%) were girls and 51 (42.5%) were boys. The mothers studied had a mean age of 25 years. 6 (5%) of the mothers were illiterate, 36 (30%) were primary passed, 70 (58.3%) were SSC passed and 8 (6.7%) were HSC passed. About 75% of mothers were aware of the advantages of breastfeeding and 88.3% were aware of how long a baby should be breastfed. But most of the mothers (almost 70%) did not know about complementary feeding. Majority (98.3%) of the mothers fed their kids with soft filling foods and similarly 98.3% were fed CHO related food like rice, potato and suji. Similarly, 97.5% of mothers were checking the temperature of the food while giving it to the baby. About 80% of the mothers were forced their child to feed. Almost 52% of mothers fed their child 3-4 times throughout the day, 40% were fed 4-6 times in a day and the remaining 10% were fed 6-8 times. There is some awareness among mothers regarding the nutrition of their children, but it can be increased with basic health education, awareness, and appropriate counseling from the health professionals.