Complementary Feeding Practices among Mothers of Children Aged 6 to 59 Months in the Rural Commune of Sinder, Tillaberi, Niger

Abstract

Adequate nutritional practices during early and early childhood are essential to ensure the growth, health and development of the full potential of these children (1). These practices begin with exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of the child's life (2), then continue with complementary feeding while continuing breastfeeding up to two years or more (3). This study aims to assess the practices of complementary feeding by mothers and wet nurses in the rural commune of Sinder. This is a descriptive cross-sectional study, on a representative sample of mothers of children under five years old. A questionnaire was completed using a structured interview. The data were collected with ODK software and then analyzed with SPSS and Epi Info version 7.2 software. Simple random sampling method were used to determine the sample size. A total of 166 mother-child pairs were identified. Before the 6th month, the majority of children were introduced to complementary foods (55.56%), 44.44% of mothers gave complementary foods at the ideal time. The average age of introduction of complementary foods is 4.9±2.77 months. Children on complementary feeding represent about 38% and those on total ablactation about 62%. The average age of weaning was 17.2±4.67 months. The frequency of consumption of complementary foods (CF) varies from one to three times a day but the majority of children (55.56%) are fed two (2) times a day. Cereal-based foods were the most consumed. The minimum acceptable diet was not satisfactory for the majority of children.