Impact of maternal nutritional literacy and feeding practices on the growth outcomes of children (6–23 months) in Gujranwala: a cross-sectional study

IntroductionMalnutrition contributes to approximately 45% of deaths among under 5 years children in low and middle-income countries. Poor maternal knowledge and failure to comply with recommended Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) practices are known risk factors for malnutrition but there are in...

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Main Authors: Aaiza Tahreem, Allah Rakha, Rimsha Anwar, Roshina Rabail, Cristina Maria Maerescu, Claudia Terezia Socol, Florin Leontin Criste, Gholamreza Abdi, Rana Muhammad Aadil
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-01-01
Series:Frontiers in Nutrition
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Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnut.2024.1460200/full
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author Aaiza Tahreem
Allah Rakha
Rimsha Anwar
Roshina Rabail
Cristina Maria Maerescu
Claudia Terezia Socol
Florin Leontin Criste
Gholamreza Abdi
Rana Muhammad Aadil
author_facet Aaiza Tahreem
Allah Rakha
Rimsha Anwar
Roshina Rabail
Cristina Maria Maerescu
Claudia Terezia Socol
Florin Leontin Criste
Gholamreza Abdi
Rana Muhammad Aadil
author_sort Aaiza Tahreem
collection DOAJ
description IntroductionMalnutrition contributes to approximately 45% of deaths among under 5 years children in low and middle-income countries. Poor maternal knowledge and failure to comply with recommended Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) practices are known risk factors for malnutrition but there are inconsistencies in the literature. Therefore, this cross-sectional study of 100 mother–child pairs in district Gujranwala aimed to assess maternal nutritional literacy (MNL) and maternal feeding practices (MFP) and their ultimate impacts on child growth.MethodsA researcher administered questionnaire that was the combination of WHO model questionnaires and FAO Nutrition-related KAP model questionnaires was used to collect the data from mothers while and anthropometric measurements of children were taken by following the standard methods.ResultsResults showed that 57% of mothers had average nutritional knowledge and feeding practices were not satisfactory. Only 12% of mothers-initiated breastfeeding within the first hour of birth, 7% of infants were exclusively breastfed, while 27.27% continued to be breastfed beyond 1 year. Complementary foods were timely introduced to 53% of infants, 47% received minimum meal frequency and 34% met the minimum dietary diversity criteria. Additionally, the consumption of unhealthy foods, sugar-sweetened beverages, and zero consumption of fruits and vegetables was practiced by 71, 23, and 27% of infants and young children, respectively. Prevalence of stunting, wasting, underweight and overweight was 19, 9, 12, and 12%, respectively. A non-significant association was observed between MNL and MFP with growth outcomes with a few exceptions. The odds of being wasted (β = 1.903, OR = 6.706, p < 0.05) and underweight (β = 1.732, OR = 5.654, p < 0.05) are higher among children who had vaginal birth. Higher odds of being stunted (β = 2.173, OR = 8.788, p < 0.05) were observed among those whose mothers had middle school education compared to those having higher education.ConclusionOverall results indicated a dire need not only to create nutritional awareness among mothers in Gujranwala but also to provide a support system for mothers to help them implement standard feeding practices.
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spelling doaj-art-83e9c926ca974e1ea59f0550015257f92025-01-07T05:23:46ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Nutrition2296-861X2025-01-011110.3389/fnut.2024.14602001460200Impact of maternal nutritional literacy and feeding practices on the growth outcomes of children (6–23 months) in Gujranwala: a cross-sectional studyAaiza Tahreem0Allah Rakha1Rimsha Anwar2Roshina Rabail3Cristina Maria Maerescu4Claudia Terezia Socol5Florin Leontin Criste6Gholamreza Abdi7Rana Muhammad Aadil8National Institute of Food Science and Technology, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, PakistanNational Institute of Food Science and Technology, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, PakistanNational Institute of Food Science and Technology, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, PakistanNational Institute of Food Science and Technology, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, PakistanDepartment of Genetics, Department of Animal Science and Technology, University of Oradea, Oradea, RomaniaDepartment of Genetics, Department of Animal Science and Technology, University of Oradea, Oradea, RomaniaDepartment of Genetics, Department of Animal Science and Technology, University of Oradea, Oradea, RomaniaDepartment of Biotechnology, Persian Gulf Research Institute, Persian Gulf University, Bushehr, IranNational Institute of Food Science and Technology, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, PakistanIntroductionMalnutrition contributes to approximately 45% of deaths among under 5 years children in low and middle-income countries. Poor maternal knowledge and failure to comply with recommended Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) practices are known risk factors for malnutrition but there are inconsistencies in the literature. Therefore, this cross-sectional study of 100 mother–child pairs in district Gujranwala aimed to assess maternal nutritional literacy (MNL) and maternal feeding practices (MFP) and their ultimate impacts on child growth.MethodsA researcher administered questionnaire that was the combination of WHO model questionnaires and FAO Nutrition-related KAP model questionnaires was used to collect the data from mothers while and anthropometric measurements of children were taken by following the standard methods.ResultsResults showed that 57% of mothers had average nutritional knowledge and feeding practices were not satisfactory. Only 12% of mothers-initiated breastfeeding within the first hour of birth, 7% of infants were exclusively breastfed, while 27.27% continued to be breastfed beyond 1 year. Complementary foods were timely introduced to 53% of infants, 47% received minimum meal frequency and 34% met the minimum dietary diversity criteria. Additionally, the consumption of unhealthy foods, sugar-sweetened beverages, and zero consumption of fruits and vegetables was practiced by 71, 23, and 27% of infants and young children, respectively. Prevalence of stunting, wasting, underweight and overweight was 19, 9, 12, and 12%, respectively. A non-significant association was observed between MNL and MFP with growth outcomes with a few exceptions. The odds of being wasted (β = 1.903, OR = 6.706, p < 0.05) and underweight (β = 1.732, OR = 5.654, p < 0.05) are higher among children who had vaginal birth. Higher odds of being stunted (β = 2.173, OR = 8.788, p < 0.05) were observed among those whose mothers had middle school education compared to those having higher education.ConclusionOverall results indicated a dire need not only to create nutritional awareness among mothers in Gujranwala but also to provide a support system for mothers to help them implement standard feeding practices.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnut.2024.1460200/fullmalnutritionIYCFknowledgepracticesgrowth
spellingShingle Aaiza Tahreem
Allah Rakha
Rimsha Anwar
Roshina Rabail
Cristina Maria Maerescu
Claudia Terezia Socol
Florin Leontin Criste
Gholamreza Abdi
Rana Muhammad Aadil
Impact of maternal nutritional literacy and feeding practices on the growth outcomes of children (6–23 months) in Gujranwala: a cross-sectional study
Frontiers in Nutrition
malnutrition
IYCF
knowledge
practices
growth
title Impact of maternal nutritional literacy and feeding practices on the growth outcomes of children (6–23 months) in Gujranwala: a cross-sectional study
title_full Impact of maternal nutritional literacy and feeding practices on the growth outcomes of children (6–23 months) in Gujranwala: a cross-sectional study
title_fullStr Impact of maternal nutritional literacy and feeding practices on the growth outcomes of children (6–23 months) in Gujranwala: a cross-sectional study
title_full_unstemmed Impact of maternal nutritional literacy and feeding practices on the growth outcomes of children (6–23 months) in Gujranwala: a cross-sectional study
title_short Impact of maternal nutritional literacy and feeding practices on the growth outcomes of children (6–23 months) in Gujranwala: a cross-sectional study
title_sort impact of maternal nutritional literacy and feeding practices on the growth outcomes of children 6 23 months in gujranwala a cross sectional study
topic malnutrition
IYCF
knowledge
practices
growth
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnut.2024.1460200/full
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