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Appropriate complementary feeding practices in Ethiopia is very low and the EDHS report shows small changes over time. Therefore, this study aimed to assess complementary feeding practice among 6–23 months of age children in Ataye town, Central Ethiopia Methods A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted on 216 mothers selected through systematic random sampling. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire through a face-to-face interview by trained nurses. EpiData 3.4 and SPSS version 21 were used for data entry and analysis respectively. Results More than half (55.2%) mothers had appropriate complementary feeding practice. Bottle feeding and Postnatal care were significant predictors of appropriate complementary feeding practice. Appropriate complementary feeding practice was two-fold higher [AOR 2.053 95%CI (1.051–4.011)] and 3.4 times higher [AOR 3.434, 95%CI (1.021, 11.552)] among non-bottle feeding and PNC attendant respectively. Conclusions There is relatively a higher appropriate complementary feeding practice in Ataye town. Non-bottle feeding and PNC attendance increase appropriate complementary feeding practice. Therefore it is important to encourage postnatal care service utilization by mothers and nutritional advice should emphasis avoiding bottle feeding practice. Health sciences/Diseases Health sciences/Health care Health sciences/Medical research Health sciences/Risk factors Appropriate complementary feeding breast feeding Ataye Introduction The first two years of child age considered as “the first 1000 days window of opportunity” are crucial to prevent the irreversible impact of under nutrition on children's physical growth, mental and intellectual development. Appropriate infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices have a significant impact on child survival [ 1 – 3 ]. IYCF practice includes breastfeeding initiation immediately or within one hour of birth, exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months, introduces complementary feedings at 6 months and continues breastfeeding until two years of child age [ 4 ]. IYCF program has been implemented since 2004 through the existing platform of Health Extension Program (HEP) and Health Development Army (HAD) as community-based nutrition intervention [ 5 , 6 ]. However, the ‘1000 days Nutrition Service Program’ was launched in 2016 to meet the goal of eliminating under two-year children stunting by 2030 (known as Sekota Declaration) [ 7 , 8 ]. Therefore, improving IYCF practice is an important strategy to achieve sustainable development goals (SDGs) of reducing under-five child mortality at least to 25 per 1000 live birth [ 1 , 9 ]. Appropriate complementary feeding practice (ACFP) is timely initiation of complementary foods with recommended quality, amount and frequency which has to be gradually increased as children get older [ 5 – 7 ]. The World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF recommends timely introduction of nutritionally adequate solid, semisolid, or soft foods starting at 6 months of age while continuing to breastfed from 6–23 months of age, even though breastfeeding may continue to two years of age and beyond. This is a critical period of growth during which nutrient deficiencies and illnesses contribute globally to higher rates of under nutrition among children less than five years of age [ 10 ]. Appropriate complementary feeding promotes optimal childhood nutrition. Malnutrition contributes to more than 50% of childhood mortality worldwide and about one-third of under-five child mortality is attributed by inappropriate complementary feeding practices in developing countries [ 1 , 5 ]. In developing countries, 6% of all under-five-year-old children's deaths can be prevented by appropriate complementary feeding [ 11 ]. Inappropriate complementary feeding practices contribute to under nutrition among children less than 2 years of age. In Ethiopia, 53% of child mortality and 47% under-five children stunting are associated with malnutrition [ 8 ]. Evidence showed that ACFP in Ethiopia remains a major problem with very small changes over time [ 12 – 14 ]. According to the Ethiopian Demographic Health Survey (EDHS) report, ACFP shows only a 3% increment from 4% in 2011 to 7% in 2016. The lowest (2–3%) proportion of children who receive the minimum acceptable diet and the highest proportion of stunted children were found in the Amhara region [ 15 , 16 ]. Despite evidences in different parts of Ethiopia, there is no study on the prevalence and factors associated with complementary feeding practices in Ataye town. Thus, it is important to examine complementary feeding practices and identify the segment of a population practicing inappropriate complementary feeding practices in different parts of Amhara region where the highest prevalence of stunting was reported. Thus, the aim of this study was to assess the magnitude and identify factors associated with ACFP among 6–23 months of age children in Ataye town, Amhara, Central Ethiopia Materials and Methods Study design and setting A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted on mothers having 6–23 months of age children who reside in Ataye town from September to December 2019. The town is located in North Shoa Zone, Southern part Amhara region, central Ethiopia. It is 270 km far from Addis Ababa the capital city of Ethiopia. The town has three Kebeles (lowest administrative unit), one public district hospital, one public health center, and 6 private clinics. Sample size and sampling procedure The sample size was determined by using single population proportion formula with the assumption of 0.05% marginal error, 95% confidence level (Za/2 = 1.96), 15% prevalence of weaning practice from a study conducted in Debre Markos district, Amhara regional state [ 17 ] and adding 10% non-response rate the final sample size was 216 households having 6–23 months age children. A proportional systematic random sampling technique was used to select households having 6–23 months of age children from every three Kebeles. First, we obtain a list of households having 6–23 months old children which are available from health extension workers (HEW) from each Kebeles. If there were two or more eligible children in the selected household’s lottery method was used to select one. Dependent and independent variables Dependent variable= Appropriate complementary feeding practice Independent variables Ethnicity, Religion, Marital status, Educational status, Occupation income, Family size, Number of children, Child age (in months), Child sex, Parity, ANC service, Number of ANC visit, Place of delivery, PNC service, Breast feeding initiation time after birth, Exclusive breast feeding, Cessation of breast feeding, Child age at cessation of breast feeding, Child age at CF initiation, and Dietary Diversity and frequency Operational Definitions Cessation of breastfeeding: is complete stopping of breastfeeding and expressed breast milk feeding. Mixed feeding: feeding of both breast milk and other foods before 6 months of child age Complementary feeding: is supplementation of breastfeeding with other soft, semi-solid or solid foods to meet the nutritional requirement of children. IYCF practice: IYCF practice includes immediate breastfeeding initiation or within one hour of birth, exclusive breastfeeding, introducing complementary feedings at 6 months of age and continue breastfeeding until two years of child age. Appropriate complementary feeding practice: children who initiate complementary feeding timely with minimum diet diversity, meal frequency and continued breastfeeding for 2 years of child age [ 10 ]. These indicators used to measure ACPF was assessed based mothers 24-hour recall method of foods offered to children on the previous day of the interview and are defined as follow: Timely initiation of complementary feeding: introducing soft, semi-solid or solid foods at 6 months of children age. Minimum diet diversity: provision of complementary foods prepared from at least four of the seven food groups (1. Grains, roots and tuners 2. Legumes and nuts 3. Dairy products 4. Flesh foods 5. Eggs 6. Vitamin-A rich fruits and vegetables 7. Other fruits and vegetables) for children aged 6–23 months. Minimum meal frequency: complementary feeding practice of twice per day for breastfed infants aged 6 months; three times per day for breastfed children aged 7–8 months; and four or more times per day for breastfed children aged 9–23 months and for non-breastfed children aged 6–23 months. Continuation of breastfeeding practice at least until 23 months of children age Data collection tools and procedures Data was collected through a face-to-face interview technique using a structured questionnaire adapted from EDHS 2016 (16), WHO standardized questionnaire for IYCF practices (2) and reviewing other similar studies. The questionnaire was first translated to Amharic (local language) and then back to English to check for internal consistency. Data related to socio-demographic characteristics, maternal health service utilization, breastfeeding, and complementary feeding practice were collected by three trained nurses with the help of one supervisor. The completeness and consistency of collected data were checked daily by the supervisor on a daily base. Data processing and analysis The completeness and consistency of collected data was rechecked by the principal investigator before data entry. Data were entered into Epi Data version 3.4 and then exported to SPSS version 21 for further analysis. Descriptive analysis was made to summarize socio-demographic, obstetric and ACF practice of study participants. Both bivariate and multivariable analyses were executed using binary logistic regression to identify predictor variables for appropriate complementary feeding practice. The odds ratio with a 95% confidence interval was computed to see the magnitude of the association between the dependent and independent variables. Variables with a p-value of less than 0.2 on bivariate analysis were included in the multivariate analysis. Variables with a p-value less than 0.05 on multivariate analysis were considered as a statistically significant predictor for the outcome variable. Results Socio-demographic characteristics of participants As shown in Table 1 below, out of 216 mothers along with their children expected all 216 of them participated in the study with a 100% response rate. The age of mothers ranged from 16 to 45 years with a mean (± SD) age of 26 (± 6.12) years. Majorities 175(81%), 192(88.9%) and 110(50.9%) mothers were Amhara ethnic group, married and Muslim religion followers respectively. Eighty-nine (41.2%) mothers were illiterate and 29(13.4%) attended college or university education. More than two-third 152(70.4%) of mothers were housewives and 161(74.5%) were dependent on their husbands as a means of income. Regarding children's characteristics, 85 (39.5%) children aged between 6–11 months and 115(53.2%) of them were females (Table 1 ). Table 1 Socio-demographic characteristics of participants in Ataye town, Ethiopia, 2019. Variables Categories Frequency Percent (%) Age (in years) Mean = 26, SD = 6.12 Ethnicity Amhara 175 81.0 Oromo 37 17.1 Others 4 1.9 Religion Orthodox 102 47.2 Muslim 110 50.9 Others 4 1.9 Marital status Married 192 88.9 Single 12 5.6 Others 12 5.6 Educational status Illiterate 89 41.2 Primary 68 31.5 Secondary 30 13.9 College/university 29 13.4 Occupation Housewife 152 70.4 Self-employee 33 15.3 Government employee 25 11.6 Others 6 2.8 Income (Ethiopian birr) Mean = 2172.45 birr, SD = 1700.5 Source of income Self 15 6.9 Husband 161 74.5 Parents 29 13.4 Others 11 5.1 Family size ≤ 3 69 31.9 ≥ 4 147 68.1 Number of children One 82 38.0 Two or more 134 62.0 Child age (in months) 6 15 6.9 7–8 33 15.3 9–11 37 17.1 12–23 131 60.6 Child sex Female 115 53.2 Male 101 46.8 Maternal health characteristics One hundred thirty-one (60.6%) of mothers had more than one live birth history. Out of 203(94.0%) mothers who had antenatal care (ANC) service, two mothers had one visit and 123(62.6%) had four or more ANC visits. Hundred ninety-eight (91.7%) mothers delivered their last pregnancy in the health facility and 18(8.3) had home delivery. About nine-tenth 196(90.7%) mothers had no postnatal care (PNC) service for their last delivery (Table 2 ). Table 2 Maternal health condition of participants in Ataye Town, Ethiopia, 2019. Variables Categories Frequency Percent (%) Parity Primipara 85 39.4 Multipara 131 60.6 ANC service Yes 203 94.0 No 13 6.0 Number of ANC visit One 2 1.0 Two 12 5.9 Three 62 30.5 Four & more 127 62.6 Place of delivery Home 18 8.3 Health facility 198 91.7 PNC service Yes 20 9.3 No 196 90.7 Breastfeeding and complementary feeding practice All mothers involved in this study had ever breastfed at some point in the past. Majority 192(88.9%) initiated breastfeeding immediately after birth within one hour and 183(84.7%) exclusively breastfed for six months. Thirty-three (15.3%) mothers had mixed feeding practice. Majority 191(88.4%) mothers were breastfeeding their children at the time of data collection. Breastfeeding cessation before 2 years of child age was 25(11.6%) and majorities 15(60%) ceased breastfeeding before 4 months of child age (Table 3 ). Out of 205(94.9%) mothers who initiated complementary feeding 172(83.9%) initiated at 6 months of child age. One Hundred thirty-four (65.4%) mothers conformed to the WHO recommended minimum diet diversity of ≥ 4 food groups and 184(89.8%) had a minimum meal frequency of ≥ 4 times/day. More than one-third of 77(37.6%) mothers were practicing bottle feeding. More than half of mothers 101(55.2%) had ACFP by considering child age at complementary food initiation, minimum diet diversity, minimum meal frequency and continuation of breastfeeding as an indicator to measure ACFP (Table 3 ). Appropriate complementary feeding practice was found to be 55.2% with its composite indicators, timely initiation of weaning food 83.9%, dietary diversified feeding 65.4%, and feeding with the recommended meal frequency per day 89.8% Table 3 Breast and complementary feeding practice of mothers in Ataye Town, Ethiopia, 2019. Variables Categories Frequency Percent (%) Breast feeding initiation time after birth Immediately 192 88.9 Within 24 hours 20 9.3 After 24 hours 4 1.8 Exclusive breast feeding Yes 183 84.7 No 33 15.3 Cessation of breast feeding Yes 25 11.6 No 191 88.4 Child age at cessation of breast feeding Before 4 month 15 60.0 4–5 month 2 8.0 6–11 month 5 20.0 12–23 month 3 12.0 Complementary feeding Yes 205 94.9 No 11 5.1 Child age at CF initiation Before 6 month 33 16.1 At the age of 6 month 172 83.9 Dietary Diversity ≤ 2 food group 13 6.3 3 food group 58 28.3 ≥ 4 food group 134 65.4 Meal frequency ≤ twice per day 2 1.0 Three times per day 19 9.3 ≥ four times per day 184 89.8 Bottle feeding Yes 77 37.6 No 128 62.4 Appropriate complementary feeding practice Yes 101 55.2 No 82 44.8 Factors associated with appropriate complementary feeding Variables identified with a p-value of ≤ 0.2 on bivariate analysis; maternal age, religion, parity, maternal occupation, family size, ANC service, PNC service, place of delivery and bottle feeding were taken as a candidate for multivariate analysis. On multivariate PNC service and bottle-feeding practices were found to have a statistically significant association with ACFP. As compared to bottle-feeding mothers, ACFP was two-fold higher among non-users [AOR 2.053, 95%CI (1.051, 4.011)]. Mothers who had PNC service were 3.4 times at increased odds of ACPF than their counterparts [AOR 3.434, 95%CI (1.021, 11.552)] (Table 4 ). Table 4 Bivariate & multivariate analysis of factors associated with ACFP in Ataye town, 2019 Variables Categories Appropriate weaning practice COR(95%CI) AOR (95%CI) Yes No Age 101 82 1..53 (1.000-1.108) 0.987 (0.908–1.072) Religion Orthodox 52 35 1 1 Muslim 46 46 0.673 (0.372–1.217) 0.747 (0.379–1.472) Others 3 1 2.019 (0.202–20.200) 0.513 (0.039–6.828) Parity Primipara 35 41 1 1 Multipara 66 41 1.886 (1.039–3.423) 1.870 (0.991–3.526) Occupation House wife 62 65 1 1 Private employee 20 2 2.621 (1.076–6.387) 2.078 (0.820–5.270) Government employee 17 7 2.546 (0.988–6.560) 2.065 (0.766–5.570) Others 2 2 1.048 (0.143–7.674) 1.160 (0.135–9.946) Place of delivery Home 6 8 1 1 Health facility 95 74 1.712 (0.569–5.149) 1.183 (0.314–4.458) Bottle feeding Yes 27 30 1 1 No 74 43 1.912 (1.004–3.632) 2.053 (1.051–4.011)* ANC service Yes 98 75 3.049 (0.763–12.186) 2.399 (0.541–10.636) No 3 7 1 1 PNC service Yes 13 5 2.275 (0.776–6.671) 3.434 (1.021–11.552)* No 88 77 1 1 NB: * statistically significant Discussion This study revealed that 83.9% of mothers in Ataye town initiated complementary feeding at 6 months of their child age. This is comparable with a study conducted in Addis Ababa [ 18 ] which showed 83% of mothers initiated complementary feeding timely. The difference might be as a result of socioeconomic and health-care access dispirits. The study population and sample size taken could also explain the differences. According to this study, the magnitude of timely initiation of complementary feeding practice is lower than 88.2% and 87.7% study findings in Wolayita zone [ 19 ] and Hula district [ 20 ] of Southern Ethiopia respectively.. However, this finding is higher than several local studies conducted in Damot Northwest Ethiopia 74.2%, [ 14 ], Feres bet Northwest Ethiopia 61.5% [ 21 ] and Halaba Kulito Southern Ethiopia 57.8% [ 22 ], Wolayita Sodo town on mothers having 6–12 and 6–23 months old children 71.2% and 66.3% respectively [ 23 , 24 ]. This reflects timely initiation of complementary feeding practice shows promising increment which might be due to the great achievements of community-based IYCF program implemented through the existing Health Extension Program (HEP) in Ataye town. In this study, more than half (55.2%) mothers were found to practice appropriate complementary feeding which was measured by considering child age at complementary food initiation, diet diversity, meal frequency and continuation of breastfeeding in addition to the introduction of complementary foods. This finding is much higher than a study report of 11.4% in Damot [ 14 ], 15% in Debre Markos [ 17 ] and 37.2% in Debre Tabore Hospital [ 13 ] and 49.6% in Woldia Town, Northeast Ethiopia [ 25 ]. This could be due to our study focused on urban mothers and urbanization might increase the mother’s awareness about the importance of appropriate complementary feeding on child nutritional status. The difference might also be explained by the current study was limited to urban residents and a small sample relative to the former studies done in both urban and rural communities using a large sample size. The finding is almost similar to the report of 56.5% appropriate complementary feeding practice in a study conducted in the Lasta district Amhara region, Northeast Ethiopia [ 26 ]. According to this study, ACFP was found statistically dependent on bottle-feeding practice and PNC service. ACFP was two-fold higher among non-bottle feeding mothers. This probable may imply that mothers use cow or canned milk for bottle feeding so that they can avoid preparing semi-solid and solid supplementary foods for their children. Therefore bottle feeding is not a cause for unhygienic feeding practice [ 6 ] but also limits the density and number of food groups used for complementary feeding. Mothers who attended PNC service were 3.4 times more likely to have ACFP than their counterpart. This finding is comparable with a study in Bahir Dar [ 27 ] which reported that ACFP was 4 fold higher among PNC attendant mothers. Studies conducted in Lasta [ 26 ], Fiche [ 28 ], Damot Weydie [ 29 ] also revealed that PNC attendance increased the practice of appropriate complementary feeding. Limitations of the study This study was not supplemented with a qualitative study. There might be a social desirability bias and recall bias about the type and time of commencement of complementary foods by mothers during the interview. Conclusions and Recommendations This study concludes that timely initiation of complementary feeding at six months of child age was higher in Ataye town. More than half of mothers in Ataye town were practiced appropriate complementary feeding. Avoiding bottle feeding practice and attending PNC service were significantly associated with increased appropriate complementary feeding practice. Therefore it is important to encourage postnatal care service utilization by mothers and nutritional advice should emphasis avoiding bottle feeding practice. Abbreviations ACFP- Appropriate Complementary Feeding Practice; EDHS- Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey; HEP- Health Extension Program; HSTP- Health Sector Transformation Plan; IYCF- Infant and Young Child Feeding Declarations Ethical approval and consent to Participate This study was conducted in accordance with the ethical principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. Ethical approval was obtained from Debre Berhan University College of Medicine and Health Sciences Research Ethics Committee. Informed consent was obtained from all participants prior to data collection. Clinical trial number: not applicable. Consent for publication Not applicable Availability of data and materials The data sets analyzed are available with a reasonable request through the corresponding author Competing interests The author declare no competing interests. Funding No funding Authors’ contributions MM designed the investigation, carried out the data analyses, interpreted the results, and prepared the manuscript. MA facilitated the data collection and revised the Manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. Acknowledgments We would like to thank Debre Berhan University for its material support. We are also grateful for study participants for their cooperation and valuable information, to data collectors and supervisors for their time and full commitment. Authors’ information MM: BSc, MSc in Pediatrics and Child health Nursing, MBA in Business Administration; Lecturer in Debre Markos University, College Medicine and Health Science, Department of Nursing and PhD Candidate in Public Health Nutrition in Bahir Dar University MA: BSc, MPH in Reproductive Health, Lecturer in Debre Berhan University, College Medicine and Health Science and PhD Candidate in Reproductive Health in Bahir Dar University References UNICEF. Infant and young child feeding programming guide. New York: UNICEF; 2012. WHO, UNICEF. Infant and young child feeding counseling: An integrated course participant’s manual. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 2006. Save the Children. Adolescent nutrition: Policy and programming in SUN+ countries. London: Save the Children; 2015. Sanghvi T, Martin L, Hajeebhoy N, Abrha TH, Abebe Y, Haque R, Tran HT, Roy S. Strengthening systems to support mothers in infant and young child feeding at scale. 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Complementary feeding practices and associated factors in Damot Weydie District, Welayta zone, South Ethiopia. BMC Public Health. 2018;18:419. Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8963335","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":601099368,"identity":"f5596b46-004c-4f0e-9ba6-957cb9ba3999","order_by":0,"name":"Mulat Mossie Menalu","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA3ElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYFAC5gYozcD4AEjx8BHWwtjAcACihdkApIWNeC0MDGwSYJKQBt0ZiY2fP+bY2Mu3Mx+r/JpjJ8PGwPzw0Q08WsxuJDZLHNyWlrjhMFvabdltyUCHsRkb5+DX0gDUcjjBgJnH7LbkNmagFh42aQJamn8AtdjLN/N/K5bcVk+UljaQLYwNh3nYGD9uO0yEljMP2yzOQvxiLM247TgPGzMhvxxPPnyjchswxPoPP/z4c1u1PT9788PH+LSgAGYeMEmschBg/EGK6lEwCkbBKBgxAAA4KUkkpFKmPAAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"Debre Markos University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Mulat","middleName":"Mossie","lastName":"Menalu","suffix":""},{"id":601099369,"identity":"fc1f53e0-bb93-4274-9161-cb3e18ffa6f8","order_by":1,"name":"Michael Amera Tizazu","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Debre Berhan University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Michael","middleName":"Amera","lastName":"Tizazu","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-02-25 05:23:29","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8963335/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8963335/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":105040727,"identity":"72e7e500-6861-4ac0-8489-15e080e20263","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-20 07:50:46","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1022671,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8963335/v1/0480a67e-cbb0-454e-8717-7c1ea4385e38.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Prevalence and Factors associated with complementary feeding practices among children aged 6–23 months in Ataye town, Central Ethiopia","fulltext":[{"header":"Introduction","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe first two years of child age considered as \u0026ldquo;the first 1000 days window of opportunity\u0026rdquo; are crucial to prevent the irreversible impact of under nutrition on children's physical growth, mental and intellectual development. Appropriate infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices have a significant impact on child survival [\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR2\" citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIYCF practice includes breastfeeding initiation immediately or within one hour of birth, exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months, introduces complementary feedings at 6 months and continues breastfeeding until two years of child age [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIYCF program has been implemented since 2004 through the existing platform of Health Extension Program (HEP) and Health Development Army (HAD) as community-based nutrition intervention [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR5\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR6\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e6\u003c/span\u003e]. However, the \u0026lsquo;1000 days Nutrition Service Program\u0026rsquo; was launched in 2016 to meet the goal of eliminating under two-year children stunting by 2030 (known as Sekota Declaration) [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR7\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e7\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e8\u003c/span\u003e]. Therefore, improving IYCF practice is an important strategy to achieve sustainable development goals (SDGs) of reducing under-five child mortality at least to 25 per 1000 live birth [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e9\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAppropriate complementary feeding practice (ACFP) is timely initiation of complementary foods with recommended quality, amount and frequency which has to be gradually increased as children get older [\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR6\" citationid=\"CR5\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR7\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e7\u003c/span\u003e]. The World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF recommends timely introduction of nutritionally adequate solid, semisolid, or soft foods starting at 6 months of age while continuing to breastfed from 6\u0026ndash;23 months of age, even though breastfeeding may continue to two years of age and beyond. This is a critical period of growth during which nutrient deficiencies and illnesses contribute globally to higher rates of under nutrition among children less than five years of age [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR10\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e10\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAppropriate complementary feeding promotes optimal childhood nutrition. Malnutrition contributes to more than 50% of childhood mortality worldwide and about one-third of under-five child mortality is attributed by inappropriate complementary feeding practices in developing countries [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR5\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e]. In developing countries, 6% of all under-five-year-old children's deaths can be prevented by appropriate complementary feeding [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR11\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e11\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eInappropriate complementary feeding practices contribute to under nutrition among children less than 2 years of age. In Ethiopia, 53% of child mortality and 47% under-five children stunting are associated with malnutrition [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e8\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eEvidence showed that ACFP in Ethiopia remains a major problem with very small changes over time [\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR13\" citationid=\"CR12\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e12\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR14\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e14\u003c/span\u003e]. According to the Ethiopian Demographic Health Survey (EDHS) report, ACFP shows only a 3% increment from 4% in 2011 to 7% in 2016. The lowest (2\u0026ndash;3%) proportion of children who receive the minimum acceptable diet and the highest proportion of stunted children were found in the Amhara region [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR15\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e15\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR16\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e16\u003c/span\u003e]. Despite evidences in different parts of Ethiopia, there is no study on the prevalence and factors associated with complementary feeding practices in Ataye town.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThus, it is important to examine complementary feeding practices and identify the segment of a population practicing inappropriate complementary feeding practices in different parts of Amhara region where the highest prevalence of stunting was reported. Thus, the aim of this study was to assess the magnitude and identify factors associated with ACFP among 6\u0026ndash;23 months of age children in Ataye town, Amhara, Central Ethiopia\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Materials and Methods","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec3\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eStudy design and setting\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eA community-based cross-sectional study was conducted on mothers having 6\u0026ndash;23 months of age children who reside in Ataye town from September to December 2019. The town is located in North Shoa Zone, Southern part Amhara region, central Ethiopia. It is 270 km far from Addis Ababa the capital city of Ethiopia. The town has three Kebeles (lowest administrative unit), one public district hospital, one public health center, and 6 private clinics.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eSample size and sampling procedure\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe sample size was determined by using single population proportion formula with the assumption of 0.05% marginal error, 95% confidence level (Za/2\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;1.96), 15% prevalence of weaning practice from a study conducted in Debre Markos district, Amhara regional state [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e17\u003c/span\u003e] and adding 10% non-response rate the final sample size was 216 households having 6\u0026ndash;23 months age children.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eA proportional systematic random sampling technique was used to select households having 6\u0026ndash;23 months of age children from every three Kebeles. First, we obtain a list of households having 6\u0026ndash;23 months old children which are available from health extension workers (HEW) from each Kebeles. If there were two or more eligible children in the selected household\u0026rsquo;s lottery method was used to select one.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eDependent and independent variables\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eDependent variable=\u003c/b\u003eAppropriate complementary feeding practice\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eIndependent variables\u003c/strong\u003e \u003cp\u003eEthnicity, Religion, Marital status, Educational status, Occupation income, Family size, Number of children, Child age (in months), Child sex, Parity, ANC service, Number of ANC visit, Place of delivery, PNC service, Breast feeding initiation time after birth, Exclusive breast feeding, Cessation of breast feeding, Child age at cessation of breast feeding, Child age at CF initiation, and Dietary Diversity and frequency\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eOperational Definitions\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCessation of breastfeeding: is complete stopping of breastfeeding and expressed breast milk feeding.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eMixed feeding: feeding of both breast milk and other foods before 6 months of child age\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eComplementary feeding: is supplementation of breastfeeding with other soft, semi-solid or solid foods to meet the nutritional requirement of children.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIYCF practice: IYCF practice includes immediate breastfeeding initiation or within one hour of birth, exclusive breastfeeding, introducing complementary feedings at 6 months of age and continue breastfeeding until two years of child age.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAppropriate complementary feeding practice: children who initiate complementary feeding timely with minimum diet diversity, meal frequency and continued breastfeeding for 2 years of child age [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR10\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e10\u003c/span\u003e]. These indicators used to measure ACPF was assessed based mothers 24-hour recall method of foods offered to children on the previous day of the interview and are defined as follow:\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cul\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eTimely initiation of complementary feeding: introducing soft, semi-solid or solid foods at 6 months of children age.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eMinimum diet diversity: provision of complementary foods prepared from at least four of the seven food groups (1. Grains, roots and tuners 2. Legumes and nuts 3. Dairy products 4. Flesh foods 5. Eggs 6. Vitamin-A rich fruits and vegetables 7. Other fruits and vegetables) for children aged 6\u0026ndash;23 months.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eMinimum meal frequency: complementary feeding practice of twice per day for breastfed infants aged 6 months; three times per day for breastfed children aged 7\u0026ndash;8 months; and four or more times per day for breastfed children aged 9\u0026ndash;23 months and for non-breastfed children aged 6\u0026ndash;23 months.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eContinuation of breastfeeding practice at least until 23 months of children age\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003c/ul\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eData collection tools and procedures\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eData was collected through a face-to-face interview technique using a structured questionnaire adapted from EDHS 2016 (16), WHO standardized questionnaire for IYCF practices (2) and reviewing other similar studies. The questionnaire was first translated to Amharic (local language) and then back to English to check for internal consistency. Data related to socio-demographic characteristics, maternal health service utilization, breastfeeding, and complementary feeding practice were collected by three trained nurses with the help of one supervisor. The completeness and consistency of collected data were checked daily by the supervisor on a daily base.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec8\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eData processing and analysis\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe completeness and consistency of collected data was rechecked by the principal investigator before data entry. Data were entered into Epi Data version 3.4 and then exported to SPSS version 21 for further analysis. Descriptive analysis was made to summarize socio-demographic, obstetric and ACF practice of study participants. Both bivariate and multivariable analyses were executed using binary logistic regression to identify predictor variables for appropriate complementary feeding practice. The odds ratio with a 95% confidence interval was computed to see the magnitude of the association between the dependent and independent variables. Variables with a p-value of less than 0.2 on bivariate analysis were included in the multivariate analysis. Variables with a p-value less than 0.05 on multivariate analysis were considered as a statistically significant predictor for the outcome variable.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Results","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec10\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eSocio-demographic characteristics of participants\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eAs shown in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e below, out of 216 mothers along with their children expected all 216 of them participated in the study with a 100% response rate. The age of mothers ranged from 16 to 45 years with a mean (\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;SD) age of 26 (\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;6.12) years. Majorities 175(81%), 192(88.9%) and 110(50.9%) mothers were Amhara ethnic group, married and Muslim religion followers respectively. Eighty-nine (41.2%) mothers were illiterate and 29(13.4%) attended college or university education. More than two-third 152(70.4%) of mothers were housewives and 161(74.5%) were dependent on their husbands as a means of income. Regarding children's characteristics, 85 (39.5%) children aged between 6\u0026ndash;11 months and 115(53.2%) of them were females (Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab1\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 1\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSocio-demographic characteristics of participants in Ataye town, Ethiopia, 2019.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"4\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eVariables\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCategories\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFrequency\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePercent (%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c2\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAge (in years) Mean\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;26, SD\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;6.12\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"2\" rowspan=\"3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEthnicity\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAmhara\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e175\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e81.0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eOromo\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e37\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e17.1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eOthers\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"2\" rowspan=\"3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eReligion\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eOrthodox\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e102\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e47.2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMuslim\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e110\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e50.9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eOthers\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"2\" rowspan=\"3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMarital status\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMarried\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e192\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e88.9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSingle\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e12\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.6\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eOthers\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e12\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.6\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"3\" rowspan=\"4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEducational status\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIlliterate\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e89\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e41.2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePrimary\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e68\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e31.5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSecondary\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e30\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e13.9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCollege/university\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e29\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e13.4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"3\" rowspan=\"4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eOccupation\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHousewife\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e152\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e70.4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSelf-employee\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e33\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e15.3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGovernment employee\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e25\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11.6\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eOthers\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.8\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c3\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIncome (Ethiopian birr) Mean\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;2172.45 birr, SD\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;1700.5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"3\" rowspan=\"4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSource of income\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSelf\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e15\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6.9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHusband\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e161\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e74.5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eParents\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e29\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e13.4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eOthers\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFamily size\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026le;\u0026thinsp;3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e69\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e31.9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026ge;\u0026thinsp;4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e147\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e68.1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNumber of children\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eOne\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e82\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e38.0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTwo or more\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e134\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e62.0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"3\" rowspan=\"4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eChild age (in months)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e15\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6.9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7\u0026ndash;8\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e33\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e15.3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9\u0026ndash;11\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e37\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e17.1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e12\u0026ndash;23\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e131\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e60.6\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eChild sex\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFemale\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e115\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e53.2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMale\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e101\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e46.8\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec11\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec12\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eMaternal health characteristics\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eOne hundred thirty-one (60.6%) of mothers had more than one live birth history. Out of 203(94.0%) mothers who had antenatal care (ANC) service, two mothers had one visit and 123(62.6%) had four or more ANC visits. Hundred ninety-eight (91.7%) mothers delivered their last pregnancy in the health facility and 18(8.3) had home delivery. About nine-tenth 196(90.7%) mothers had no postnatal care (PNC) service for their last delivery (Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab2\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 2\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMaternal health condition of participants in Ataye Town, Ethiopia, 2019.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"4\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eVariables\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCategories\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFrequency\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePercent (%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eParity\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePrimipara\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e85\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e39.4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMultipara\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e131\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e60.6\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eANC service\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e203\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e94.0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e13\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6.0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"3\" rowspan=\"4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNumber of ANC visit\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eOne\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTwo\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e12\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eThree\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e62\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e30.5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFour \u0026amp; more\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e127\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e62.6\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePlace of delivery\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHome\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e18\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHealth facility\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e198\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e91.7\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePNC service\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e20\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e196\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e90.7\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec13\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eBreastfeeding and complementary feeding practice\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eAll mothers involved in this study had ever breastfed at some point in the past. Majority 192(88.9%) initiated breastfeeding immediately after birth within one hour and 183(84.7%) exclusively breastfed for six months. Thirty-three (15.3%) mothers had mixed feeding practice. Majority 191(88.4%) mothers were breastfeeding their children at the time of data collection. Breastfeeding cessation before 2 years of child age was 25(11.6%) and majorities 15(60%) ceased breastfeeding before 4 months of child age (Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOut of 205(94.9%) mothers who initiated complementary feeding 172(83.9%) initiated at 6 months of child age. One Hundred thirty-four (65.4%) mothers conformed to the WHO recommended minimum diet diversity of \u0026ge;\u0026thinsp;4 food groups and 184(89.8%) had a minimum meal frequency of \u0026ge;\u0026thinsp;4 times/day. More than one-third of 77(37.6%) mothers were practicing bottle feeding. More than half of mothers 101(55.2%) had ACFP by considering child age at complementary food initiation, minimum diet diversity, minimum meal frequency and continuation of breastfeeding as an indicator to measure ACFP (Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAppropriate complementary feeding practice was found to be 55.2% with its composite indicators, timely initiation of weaning food 83.9%, dietary diversified feeding 65.4%, and feeding with the recommended meal frequency per day 89.8%\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab3\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 3\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBreast and complementary feeding practice of mothers in Ataye Town, Ethiopia, 2019.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"4\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eVariables\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCategories\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFrequency\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePercent (%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"2\" rowspan=\"3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBreast feeding initiation time after birth\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eImmediately\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e192\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e88.9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eWithin 24 hours\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e20\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAfter 24 hours\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.8\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eExclusive breast feeding\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e183\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e84.7\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e33\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e15.3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCessation of breast feeding\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e25\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11.6\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e191\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e88.4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"3\" rowspan=\"4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eChild age at cessation of breast feeding\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBefore 4 month\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e15\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e60.0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4\u0026ndash;5 month\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6\u0026ndash;11 month\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e20.0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e12\u0026ndash;23 month\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e12.0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eComplementary feeding\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e205\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e94.9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eChild age at CF initiation\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBefore 6 month\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e33\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e16.1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAt the age of 6 month\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e172\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e83.9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"2\" rowspan=\"3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDietary Diversity\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026le;\u0026thinsp;2 food group\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e13\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6.3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3 food group\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e58\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e28.3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026ge;\u0026thinsp;4 food group\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e134\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e65.4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"2\" rowspan=\"3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMeal frequency\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026le; twice per day\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eThree times per day\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e19\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026ge; four times per day\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e184\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e89.8\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBottle feeding\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e77\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e37.6\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e128\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e62.4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAppropriate complementary feeding practice\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e101\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e55.2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e82\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e44.8\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec14\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eFactors associated with appropriate complementary feeding\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eVariables identified with a p-value of \u0026le;\u0026thinsp;0.2 on bivariate analysis; maternal age, religion, parity, maternal occupation, family size, ANC service, PNC service, place of delivery and bottle feeding were taken as a candidate for multivariate analysis. On multivariate PNC service and bottle-feeding practices were found to have a statistically significant association with ACFP. As compared to bottle-feeding mothers, ACFP was two-fold higher among non-users [AOR 2.053, 95%CI (1.051, 4.011)]. Mothers who had PNC service were 3.4 times at increased odds of ACPF than their counterparts [AOR 3.434, 95%CI (1.021, 11.552)] (Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab4\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab4\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 4\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBivariate \u0026amp; multivariate analysis of factors associated with ACFP in Ataye town, 2019\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"6\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eVariables\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCategories\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c4\" namest=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAppropriate weaning practice\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCOR(95%CI)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAOR (95%CI)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAge\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e101\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e82\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1..53 (1.000-1.108)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.987 (0.908\u0026ndash;1.072)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"2\" rowspan=\"3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eReligion\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eOrthodox\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e52\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e35\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMuslim\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e46\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e46\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.673 (0.372\u0026ndash;1.217)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.747 (0.379\u0026ndash;1.472)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eOthers\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.019 (0.202\u0026ndash;20.200)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.513 (0.039\u0026ndash;6.828)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eParity\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePrimipara\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e35\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e41\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMultipara\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e66\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e41\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.886 (1.039\u0026ndash;3.423)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.870 (0.991\u0026ndash;3.526)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"3\" rowspan=\"4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eOccupation\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHouse wife\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e62\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e65\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePrivate employee\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e20\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.621 (1.076\u0026ndash;6.387)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.078 (0.820\u0026ndash;5.270)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGovernment employee\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e17\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.546 (0.988\u0026ndash;6.560)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.065 (0.766\u0026ndash;5.570)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eOthers\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.048 (0.143\u0026ndash;7.674)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.160 (0.135\u0026ndash;9.946)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePlace of delivery\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHome\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHealth facility\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e95\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e74\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.712 (0.569\u0026ndash;5.149)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.183 (0.314\u0026ndash;4.458)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBottle feeding\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e27\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e30\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e74\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e43\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.912 (1.004\u0026ndash;3.632)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e2.053 (1.051\u0026ndash;4.011)*\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eANC service\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e98\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e75\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.049 (0.763\u0026ndash;12.186)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.399 (0.541\u0026ndash;10.636)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePNC service\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e13\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.275 (0.776\u0026ndash;6.671)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e3.434 (1.021\u0026ndash;11.552)*\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e88\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e77\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003ctfoot\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"6\"\u003eNB: * statistically significant\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tfoot\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Discussion","content":"\u003cp\u003eThis study revealed that 83.9% of mothers in Ataye town initiated complementary feeding at 6 months of their child age. This is comparable with a study conducted in Addis Ababa [\u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e18\u003c/span\u003e] which showed 83% of mothers initiated complementary feeding timely. The difference might be as a result of socioeconomic and health-care access dispirits. The study population and sample size taken could also explain the differences.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAccording to this study, the magnitude of timely initiation of complementary feeding practice is lower than 88.2% and 87.7% study findings in Wolayita zone [\u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e19\u003c/span\u003e] and Hula district [\u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e20\u003c/span\u003e] of Southern Ethiopia respectively.. However, this finding is higher than several local studies conducted in Damot Northwest Ethiopia 74.2%, [\u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e14\u003c/span\u003e], Feres bet Northwest Ethiopia 61.5% [\u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e21\u003c/span\u003e] and Halaba Kulito Southern Ethiopia 57.8% [\u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e22\u003c/span\u003e], Wolayita Sodo town on mothers having 6–12 and 6–23 months old children 71.2% and 66.3% respectively [\u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e23\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e24\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis reflects timely initiation of complementary feeding practice shows promising increment which might be due to the great achievements of community-based IYCF program implemented through the existing Health Extension Program (HEP) in Ataye town.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn this study, more than half (55.2%) mothers were found to practice appropriate complementary feeding which was measured by considering child age at complementary food initiation, diet diversity, meal frequency and continuation of breastfeeding in addition to the introduction of complementary foods. This finding is much higher than a study report of 11.4% in Damot [\u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e14\u003c/span\u003e], 15% in Debre Markos [\u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e17\u003c/span\u003e] and 37.2% in Debre Tabore Hospital [\u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e13\u003c/span\u003e] and 49.6% in Woldia Town, Northeast Ethiopia [\u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e25\u003c/span\u003e]. This could be due to our study focused on urban mothers and urbanization might increase the mother’s awareness about the importance of appropriate complementary feeding on child nutritional status. The difference might also be explained by the current study was limited to urban residents and a small sample relative to the former studies done in both urban and rural communities using a large sample size.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe finding is almost similar to the report of 56.5% appropriate complementary feeding practice in a study conducted in the Lasta district Amhara region, Northeast Ethiopia [\u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e26\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAccording to this study, ACFP was found statistically dependent on bottle-feeding practice and PNC service. ACFP was two-fold higher among non-bottle feeding mothers. This probable may imply that mothers use cow or canned milk for bottle feeding so that they can avoid preparing semi-solid and solid supplementary foods for their children. Therefore bottle feeding is not a cause for unhygienic feeding practice [\u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e6\u003c/span\u003e] but also limits the density and number of food groups used for complementary feeding.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eMothers who attended PNC service were 3.4 times more likely to have ACFP than their counterpart. This finding is comparable with a study in Bahir Dar [\u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e27\u003c/span\u003e] which reported that ACFP was 4 fold higher among PNC attendant mothers. Studies conducted in Lasta [\u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e26\u003c/span\u003e], Fiche [\u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e28\u003c/span\u003e], Damot Weydie [\u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e29\u003c/span\u003e] also revealed that PNC attendance increased the practice of appropriate complementary feeding.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec16\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eLimitations of the study\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis study was not supplemented with a qualitative study. There might be a social desirability bias and recall bias about the type and time of commencement of complementary foods by mothers during the interview.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e "},{"header":"Conclusions and Recommendations","content":"\u003cp\u003eThis study concludes that timely initiation of complementary feeding at six months of child age was higher in Ataye town. More than half of mothers in Ataye town were practiced appropriate complementary feeding. Avoiding bottle feeding practice and attending PNC service were significantly associated with increased appropriate complementary feeding practice. Therefore it is important to encourage postnatal care service utilization by mothers and nutritional advice should emphasis avoiding bottle feeding practice.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Abbreviations","content":"\u003cp\u003eACFP- Appropriate Complementary Feeding Practice; EDHS- Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey; HEP- Health Extension Program; HSTP- Health Sector Transformation Plan; IYCF- Infant and Young Child Feeding\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEthical approval and consent to Participate\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis study was conducted in accordance with the ethical principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. Ethical approval was obtained from Debre Berhan University College of Medicine and Health Sciences Research Ethics Committee. Informed consent was obtained from all participants prior to data collection. Clinical trial number: not applicable.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eConsent for publication\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNot applicable\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAvailability of data and materials\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe data sets analyzed are available with a reasonable request through the corresponding author\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCompeting interests\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe author declare no competing interests.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFunding\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNo funding\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAuthors’ contributions\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMM designed the investigation, carried out the data analyses, interpreted the results, and prepared the manuscript. MA facilitated the data collection and revised the Manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAcknowledgments\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe would like to thank Debre Berhan University for its material support. We are also grateful for study participants for their cooperation and valuable information, to data collectors and supervisors for their time and full commitment.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAuthors’ information\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMM: BSc, MSc in Pediatrics and Child health Nursing, MBA in Business Administration; Lecturer in Debre Markos University, College Medicine and Health Science, Department of Nursing and PhD Candidate in Public Health Nutrition in Bahir Dar University\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMA: BSc, MPH in Reproductive Health, Lecturer in Debre Berhan University, College Medicine and Health Science and PhD Candidate in Reproductive Health in Bahir Dar University\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eUNICEF. Infant and young child feeding programming guide. New York: UNICEF; 2012.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWHO, UNICEF. Infant and young child feeding counseling: An integrated course participant’s manual. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 2006.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSave the Children. Adolescent nutrition: Policy and programming in SUN+ countries. London: Save the Children; 2015.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSanghvi T, Martin L, Hajeebhoy N, Abrha TH, Abebe Y, Haque R, Tran HT, Roy S. Strengthening systems to support mothers in infant and young child feeding at scale. Food and nutrition bulletin. 2013 Sep;34(3_suppl2):S156-68.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWHO. Essential nutrition actions: Improving maternal, newborn, infant and young child health and nutrition. Geneva, Switzerland: WHO; 2013.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMoH. Ethiopian national strategy for infant and young child feeding: Minister of Health; 2004.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWHO, UNICEF. Global strategy for infant and young child feeding. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2003.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLevinson J, Admassu B, Trevors T, Teshome A. Empowering New Generations to Improve Nutrition and Economic Opportunities (ENGINE), Ethiopia-Extenal mid-term performance evaluation report. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: Tufts University Africa Regional Office; 2014.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eUN. Transforming our world: The 2030 agenda for sustainable development: United Nations.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWorld Health Organization. United Nations Children's Fund, UNICEF: Indicators for Assessing Infant and Young Child Feeding Practices. WHO (2010). \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBlack RE, Victora CG, Walker SP, et al. Maternal and child under nutrition and overweight in low-income and middle-income countries. Lancet. 2013;382(9890):427–451. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(13)60937\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eEthiopia 2017 Voluntary National Review on SDGs Government Commitments, National Ownership and Performance Trends. Addis Ababa: National Planning Commission; 2017.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDagne AH, Anteneh KT, Badi MB, Adhanu HH, Ahunie MA, Tebeje HMD, et al. Appropriate complementary feeding practice and associated factors among mothers having children aged 6–24 months in Debre Tabor Hospital, North West Ethiopia, 2016. BMC Res Notes. 2019;12:215.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAreja A, Yohannes D, Yohannis M. Determinants of appropriate complementary feeding practice among mothers having children 6–23 months of age in rural Damot sore district, Southern Ethiopia; a community based cross sectional study. BMC Nutrition. 2017;3:82.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCSA. Ethiopia Demographic and Health Survey report. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: Central Statistical Agency; 2011.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCSA. Ethiopia Demographic and Health Survey. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: Central Statistical Agency; 2016.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eYimer B, Wolde A, Mekonnen M. Appropriate complementary feeding practice was relatively low and associated with mother’s education, family income, and mother’s age: a community based cross-sectional study in Northern Ethiopia. J Nutr Health Food Eng. 2017;6(2):29-35.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMohammed S, Getinet T, Solomon S, Jones AD. Prevalence of initiation of complementary feeding at 6 months of age and associated factors among mothers of children aged 6 to 24 months in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. BMC Nutrition. 2018;4:54.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAbeshu MA, Adish A, Haki GD, Lelisa A, Geleta B. Knowledge, complementary Feeding Practices, and adequacy of nutrient intake from homemade Foods for children of 6–23 Months in Food insecure Woredas of Wolayita Zone, ethiopia. Front Nutr. 2016;3:32\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHoche S, Meshesha B, Wakgari N. Sub-optimal breastfeeding and its associated factors in rural communities of Hula District, Southern Ethiopia: A Cross-Sectional Study. Ethiop J Health Sci. 2017;28(1):49.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eZeleke LB, Gebremichael MW, Adinew YM, Gelaw KA. Appropriate weaning practice and associated factors among infants and young children in Northwest Ethiopia. Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism. 2017:7.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHibstu DT, Tesfaye DJ, Abebo TA, Bekele FB. Complementary feeding timing and its predictors among mothers’ of children aged (6-23) months old in Halaba Kulito town, Southern Ethiopia. Curr Pediatr Res. 2018;22(1):61-8.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChane T, Bitew S, Mekonnen T, Fekadu W. Initiation of complementary feeding and associated factors among children of age 6-23 months in Sodo town, Southern Ethiopia: Cross-sectional study. Pediatric Reports. 2017;9:7240.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTafesse T, Badacho AS, Kuma DM. Timely introduction of complementary feeding among caregivers of children 6-12 m onth Sodo Town, Ethiopia. Health Sci J. 2018;12(1):543.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAsmare LD, Kassaw MW, Abebe AM, Abate BB, Tegegne KD. Prevalence and Factors Associated with Child Feeding Practice Among Mothers of Woldia Town, Northeast Ethiopia. Nutrition and Dietary Supplements. 2020 Oct 12;12:205-13.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMolla M, Ejigu T, Nega G. Complementary feeding practice and associated factors among mothers having children 6–23 months of age, Lasta district, Amhara region, Northeast Ethiopia. Advances in Public Health. 2017:8.\\\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDemilew YM, Tafere TE, Abitew DB. Infant and young child feeding practice among mothers with 0–24 months old children in Slum areas of Bahir Dar City, Ethiopia. International Breastfeeding Journal. 2017;12:26.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShukure R. Assessment of knowledge, attitude and practice on initiation of complementary feeding among under two years children in Fiche Town, North Showa Zone, Ethiopia. International Journal of Biomedical Engineering and Clinical Science. 2017;3(6):103-9.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eEpheson B, Birhanu Z, Tamiru D, Feyissa GT. Complementary feeding practices and associated factors in Damot Weydie District, Welayta zone, South Ethiopia. BMC Public Health. 2018;18:419.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"
[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Appropriate complementary feeding, breast feeding, Ataye","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8963335/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8963335/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003ch2\u003eBackground\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe impact of malnutrition in the first two years of child age on child mortality and morbidity can be prevented through adequate child nutrition practice. Appropriate complementary feeding practices in Ethiopia is very low and the EDHS report shows small changes over time. Therefore, this study aimed to assess complementary feeding practice among 6\u0026ndash;23 months of age children in Ataye town, Central Ethiopia\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eMethods\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eA community-based cross-sectional study was conducted on 216 mothers selected through systematic random sampling. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire through a face-to-face interview by trained nurses. EpiData 3.4 and SPSS version 21 were used for data entry and analysis respectively.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eResults\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eMore than half (55.2%) mothers had appropriate complementary feeding practice. Bottle feeding and Postnatal care were significant predictors of appropriate complementary feeding practice. Appropriate complementary feeding practice was two-fold higher [AOR 2.053 95%CI (1.051\u0026ndash;4.011)] and 3.4 times higher [AOR 3.434, 95%CI (1.021, 11.552)] among non-bottle feeding and PNC attendant respectively.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eConclusions\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThere is relatively a higher appropriate complementary feeding practice in Ataye town. Non-bottle feeding and PNC attendance increase appropriate complementary feeding practice. Therefore it is important to encourage postnatal care service utilization by mothers and nutritional advice should emphasis avoiding bottle feeding practice.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Prevalence and Factors associated with complementary feeding practices among children aged 6–23 months in Ataye town, Central Ethiopia","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-03-06 17:27:35","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8963335/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"
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