Complementary Feeding Practices and Associated Factors for Infants Attending Hawasa University Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, Sidama Region, Southern Ethiopia

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Inadequate infant feeding are the major causes of infant mortality and under-nutrition. Yet, very little is known about the determinants of complementary feeding practices in study area. This study assessed complementary feeding practices and associated factors for infants in Hawasa University Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, Sidama Region, Ethiopia. Methods Cross sectional study design was used to assess complementary feeding practices and associated factors for infants attending Hawasa University Comprehensive Specialized Hospital. Result Three hundred and ninety-five (395) mothers or caregivers were interviewed during the study making the response rate of 100%. More than half (66.3%) of respondents reported that they knew the reason for initiating complementary feeding while 58.9% knew when to start the complementary feeding for their infants; however 58.5% of them did not know the minimum frequency of complementary feeding in a day. The mean meal frequency for infants was 4.35 (± 1.24) (95% CI 3.3–3.6). The results show that only 19% of infants consume a minimum acceptable diet, 16% achieve minimum dietary diversity, and 44% reach minimum meal frequency. Multivariate regression analysis shows that mother’s/care taker’s knowledge about proper complementary feeding, mother’s age, mother’s employment status and father’s employment status are significant predictors of complementary feeding practices among infants aged 6–24 months in the study area. Conclusion Infants’ complementary feeding practices fell below the World Health Organization recommended level in terms of minimum acceptable diet and minimum meal frequency and minimum dietary diversity among infants aged 6–24 months in Hawasa University Comprehensive Specialized hospital. It’s important to raise awareness of mothers/care takers of infants through health practitioners in addition to ensuring employment of infants’ parents to ensure proper practices of complementary feeding among infants. Complementary feeding practices infants Hawasa University CSH Figures Figure 1 Figure 2 Introduction Adequate nutrition during infancy and early childhood is fundamental to the development of each child’s full human potential. It is well recognized that the period from birth to two years of age is a “critical window” for the promotion of optimal growth, health and behavioral development ( 1 ).The immediate consequences of poor nutrition during these formative years include significant morbidity and mortality and delayed mental and motor development. In the long-term, early nutritional deficits are linked to impairments in intellectual performance, work capacity, reproductive outcomes and overall health during adolescence and adulthood ( 2 ).For this reason, it is essential to ensure that caregivers are provided with appropriate guidance regarding optimal complementary feeding of infants. Complementary feeding is defined as starting food and water when breast milk alone is no longer sufficient to meet the nutritional requirements of infants and therefore other foods and liquids are needed, along with breast milk. The target age range for complementary feeding is generally taken to be 6 to 24 months of age, even though breastfeeding may continue beyond two years ( 3 ). Following the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations, timely introduction means that complementary feeding should be introduced at 6 months of age. Complementary feeding is needed from that age because breast milk or infant formula alone are not enough to cover the infant’s energy needs or provide sufficient amounts of certain nutrients such as protein, zinc, iron and fat-soluble vitamins ( 4 ). Infants are born with a store of iron in their liver that is sufficient for the first 6 months of life but after that the amount of iron in breast milk will not satisfy infants’ nutritional requirements for iron ( 5 ). In addition to timely introduction, the WHO also emphasizes diet diversity, meaning that a variety of the basic food groups should be included as part of the complementary feeding to ensure a heterogeneous nutrient intake that satisfies all nutrient needs in the growing infant ( 6 ). The need of infants for energy and nutrients start to exceed what is provided by breast milk at the age of 6 months and complementary foods are necessary to meet those needs. Most of the times there are problems related to practicing complementary feeding for infants in most areas of the world. The problems are complementary foods are often provided to the infants of inadequate nutritional quality, or they are given too early or too late, or in too small amounts, or not frequently enough. If the feeds are given inappropriately, the growth of the infant may be faltered ( 7 ). In many developing countries, the incidence of under-nutrition usually increases during the period of complementary feeding from the age of 6 to 18 months ( 7 ). The occurrence of early nutritional deficits is linked to long-term impairments in child growth and health ( 7 ). According to the 2019 mini Demographic and Health Survey (mEDHS), the Ethiopian national prevalence of appropriate complementary feeding practices among infants was 41% ( 8 ). Contrary to the WHO recommendation that children under the age of 6 months should not start complementary feeding, 14% of infants 0–5 months consume plain water, 1% of infants consume non-milk liquids, 8% consume milk, and 9% of infants under 6 months use a bottle with a nipple, a practice that is discouraged because of the risk of exposing the child to illness ( 8 ). However, the regional variation (among the regions of Ethiopia) of complementary feeding practice was not separately addressed by the Ethiopian Mini Demographic and Health Survey, 2019 ( 8 ). The mini EDHS also revealed that, 37.2% of infants in Ethiopia meet the criteria of dietary diversity and feeding frequency that are appropriate for their age. Thus, only few children receive nutritionally adequate and safe complementary food ( 8 ). Inappropriate complementary feeding practice may result in malnutrition and cause various diseases. Almost half (45%) of all children’s deaths are associated with malnutrition, while children in sub-Saharan Africa are more than 14 times likely to die before the age of 5 than children in developed regions ( 9 ). Until now, indicators used to measure infant and young child feeding practices in population-based surveys have focused mostly on breastfeeding practices ( 10 ). Considerations were not given to quantity and quality of complementary foods and feeding practices including dietary diversity like breast feeding. Meanwhile, inadequate knowledge about appropriate foods and the feeding practices are often greater determinants of malnutrition than mere lack of food ( 11 ). Having a better complementary feeding knowledge and practices among mothers of infants will prevent the consequences of malnutrition thereby enabling children to receive appropriate nutrition and consequently achieve their full human potential ( 12 ). Optimal complementary feeding practices depends not only for what is feed, but also on how, when, where and by whom the child is feed ( 9 ). In many developing countries, less than 25% of infants within the age 6–24 months meet the criteria of dietary diversity and feeding frequency that are appropriate for their age ( 13 ). Thus, only few children receive nutritionally adequate and safe complementary food ( 14 ). In Ethiopia, according to the Demographic and Health Survey, more than 70% of infants are given complementary food too early which is usually of poor nutritional values ( 5 ). Study also shows that only 37.2% of infants receive nutritionally adequate and safe complementary food in Ethiopia though inappropriate complementary feeding practice may result in malnutrition and cause various diseases. ( 15 ). Thus this study will assess the complementary feeding practices and associated factors for infants attending Hawasa University Comprehensive Specialized Hospital assessing the level of attainment of minimum acceptable diet, meal frequency and dietary diversity during complementary feeding of infants in addition to identifying factors affecting complementary feeding practices for infants. Significance of the study Acknowledging this, the interest in the complementary feeding practices and associated factors of infants is not incidental; rather it is influenced by a thorough observation and experience in the child health program. On top of this acknowledgement, finding of this study will also provide clear evidence of complementary feeding practices and associated factors for infants in the study areas to assist healthcare providers and managers to plan for further improvement of the program of infant’s complementary feeding practices. Methods Study design and settings Study design Cross sectional study design was applied to assess complementary feeding practices and associated factors for infants (6–24 months of age) attending Hawassa University Comprehensive Specialized Hospital . Study settings and period The study was conducted in Hawassa University Comprehensive specialized hospital, found in Hawasa city, Capital of Sidama Region. Hawassa City is located at 275 km South-East of Addis Ababa, capital city of Ethiopia. Based on the hospital’s report, a total of 14651 patients of pediatric age were served in the hospital in 202.The pediatric ward has estimated monthly admissions of 928–1352 patients ( 16 ). The study was conducted from July 1/2022 to September 30/2022 G.C. Source population All pediatrics patients who visited Hawasa University Comprehensive Specialized Hospital during the study period were source population. Study population All infants, up to 24 months of age, who attended pediatrics Out Patient Department, pediatrics ward, Expanded Program for Immunization and pediatrics follow up clinics, were study population. Inclusion criteria and exclusion criteria Inclusion criteria All infants whose age limit were 6–24 months were included Exclusion criteria Infants whose attendant (care giver) were unable to provide information due to various reason like lacking infant’s complementary feeding history/information or unable to communicate due to illnesses were excluded Sample size and sampling technique Sample size determination Sample size was calculated using single population proportion formula using the following assumptions with 37.2% prevalence (p) of appropriate complementary feeding practice in Debretabor Hospital ( 17 ). Desired precision (d) = 5%, Confidence level = 95% (Ζα/2 = 1.96 value) 37.2% of the prevalence (p) of appropriate complementary feeding practice in Debretabor Hospital was considered. Hence, the calculated sample size using the formula Where , n = is a required sample size P = 37.2% (0.372) as mentioned above q = 1-p Adding up the estimated 10% non- response rate, which is 36, the total sample size was 395 Sampling procedure and technique Simple random sampling technique was employed to select the study participants. Study variables Independent variable Socio-economic and demographic characteristics such as: age of the mother marital status of the mother family size educational status of the mother/care taker husband’s educational status occupational status of the mother/care takers family income Religion of mothers Maternal health service and related characteristics such as: Parity Place of delivery PNC visit Knowledge of mothers/care takers/ of complementary feeding practices Child related characteristics such as Age of the infant Dependent variables Complementary feeding practices Operational definition Infants In this study infants are those children 6 months up to 24 month of age( 14 ). Complementary feeding is the process of starting additional foods and liquids aside from breast milk because breast milk alone is no longer sufficient to meet the nutritional requirements of infants after 6 months of age ( 5 ). In this study, the level of complementary feeding is categorized as optimal or sub-optimal based on the World Health Organization’s recommendation of infant and young child feeding ( 18 , 19 ) Complementary feeding practices is the process of practicing and attaining minimum dietary diversity, minimum meal frequency and minimum acceptable diet for infants of age 6–24 months ( 21 ). Minimum Dietary Diversity Is said to be attained when infants 6–24 months of age who consume from 4 or more of the 7 food groups (grains/tubers/roots, legumes/nuts, milk/diary product, eggs, vitamin A rich, flesh foods and other fruits and vegetables) with 24 hours dietary recall ( 18 ). Minimum Meal Frequency Is said to be attained when infants of age 6–24 months fed a minimum of three meals per day within a 24-hour dietary recall period ( 18 ). Minimum Acceptable Diet (MAD) A composite indicator of minimum dietary diversity and minimum meal frequency. Proportion of children 6–24 months of age who received a minimum diversified diet and minimum meal frequency (apart from breast milk) is said to be MAD fulfilled ( 18 ). Measurement of variables Minimum dietary diversity is based on the WHO recommendation of consuming at least four food groups out of seven to provide necessary nutrients and energy for the child to ensure normal growth ( 18 ). The Ethiopian guidelines for Infants and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) also recommends food groups for IYCF and the practices can be assessed based on the mother’s 24-hour recall of foods given to her child ( 19 ). The seven food groups covered in the guidelines for young children (infants) between 6–24 months of age include grains, roots, and tubers; legumes and nuts; dairy products (milk, yogurt); flesh foods (meat, fish, poultry and liver/organ meats; eggs; vitamin- A-rich fruits and vegetables; and other fruits and vegetables. Minimum meal frequency is defined as the proportion of infants between 6–24 months of age (breastfed or otherwise) who received solid, semi-solid, or soft foods for at least the minimum number of times recommended by the World Health Organization ( 18 ). For non-breastfed infants, milk is also considered in calculating the minimum food-frequency ( 19 ). The definition of “minimum” varies by age. Breastfed infants between 6 and 8 months of age and between 9 and 24 months of age should consume solid or semi-solid food minimum twice a day and thrice a day, respectively. Non-breastfed children infants 6 and 24 months of age should consume solid or semi-solid food at least four times a day, and also, they should intake dairy or formula milk ( 20 ). A minimum acceptable diet is a combination of diet diversity and meal frequency variables where a breastfed infant 6–24 months of age is considered to be receiving a minimum acceptable diet if he had at least the minimum dietary diversity and meal frequency in the last 24 hours. Similarly, a non-breastfed infant 6–24 months of age is considered to be receiving a minimum acceptable diet if he has received at least two milk feedings with minimum dietary diversity (excluding milk) and minimum meal frequency in the last 24 hours ( 18 , 19 ). Data collection technique and instruments Quantitative data were collected using a pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire, adapted from similar studies and the WHO’s guidelines of complementary feeding, infants and young child nutrition ( 18 ). Data were collected from mothers or care takers of the infants by using face-to-face interviews. Questionnaire was developed in English and was translated into local language and then was translated back to English during data analysis to ensure the consistence of information. Data quality assurance To ensure data quality, data collectors were adequately trained on data collection procedures and a researcher followed and monitored the process of data collection thoroughly. Access to data for unauthorized personnel was restricted to maintain data quality during coding and data entering. Data analysis Data coding, entering, and cleaning was done using the EPI Info 6 software version then, the SPSS software of version 25 was used, and descriptive data analysis was computed. Bivariate and multivariate analysis was conducted to analyze the association between child characteristic and family socio-economic characteristics with complementary feeding practice. Chi-square test with a confidence level of 95% was used to analyze the association between family’s socio-economic and demography characteristics with complementary feeding practice. Ethical consideration The approval to conduct the study, through the ethical clearance, was obtained from Hawasa University College of Medical and Health Sciences Institutional Review Board (IRB). All the ethical principles (Informed consent, autonomy, Beneficence, justice, confidentiality and anonymity, termination) were maintained during data collection, data analysis and dissemination of findings. Oral informed consent was obtained from mothers or care takers of their infants who participated in the study. . Results and Discussion Socio-demographic characteristics of study participants Three hundred and ninety-five (381) mothers and caregivers were interviewed during the study making response rate of 96.4%. The age ranges of majority of respondents (49.3%) were 18–24 years followed by 25–35 years (38.5%). The mean age of the respondents was 24.7 years with +/-2.1 Standard Deviation. Majority (97.7%) of the respondents were married. One hundred and fifty six (41%) of the participants had primary school education and 24.6% had secondary education while 6.6% of participants had college level education. However, 25.8% of had no formal education. More than half (52%) of the participants were Muslim by religion and 40.7% of the participants were protestant. Two hundred and six (54.2%) of the participants were Oromo by their ethnicity and 134 (35.2%) were Sidama by their ethnicity. More than half (59.6%) of infants were 6–12 months by their age. The average size of a family was 4 (range from 2 to 6) people (see table 1 in separately attached document). Table 1 Socio-demographic characteristics of the study population (n = 388) Socio-demographic characteristics Sample (n) Percent Maternal age (years):n = 395 395 35 Infant’s age (months) 395 6 8.4 6-8.9 9–12 27 > 12 32 First infant or not 395 Yes 155 39.2 No 240 60.8 Age of older infant (years) 240 2 223 93 Sex of infant 395 Male 229 58 Female 166 42 Marital status 395 Single 0.5 Married 97.7 Widowed 0.75 Divorced 1 Mother’s educational status 395 Not educated 102 25.8 Adult education 8 2 Grade 1–4 83 21 Grade 5–8 79 20 Grade 9–10 83 21 Grade 11–12 14 3.6 College level education 26 6.6 Religion 395 Protestant 161 40.7 Muslim 52.2 Orthodox 13 3.3 Catholic 7 1.8 Others 8 2.0 Ethnicity 395 Sidama 139 35.2 Oromo 214 54.2 Amhara 13 3.2 Wolaita 19 4.8 Gurage 5 1.3 Other 5 1.3 Socio-economic characteristics of the households Husband’s educational status Majority (59%) of the husbands had an educational status of primary education (grade 1–8). There were no husbands who attended adult education and 67 (17.4%) had not educated at all while 45 (11.5%) had college level educational status (see Table 2 below). Table 2 Husband’s educational status (n = 388) Level of education Frequency Percent Not educated 67 17.4 Adult education \(0\) 0 Grade 1–4 \(126\) 32.5 Grade 5–8 103 26.5 Grade 9–10 14 3.6 Grade 11–12 33 8.5 College level 45 11.5 Nine (2.3%) of the participants had no husband at the time of interview due to divorce/widow Husband’s occupational status One hundred and ninety-five (51.3%) of the participants’ husbands were farmers in occupation, 52 (13.6%) were merchants, 54 (14.2%) formally employed and 16 (4.2%) unemployed. Most of the mothers (65.6%) were housewives by occupation (see Table 3 below). Table 3 The husband’s occupational status (n = 388) Types of occupation Frequency Percent Farmer 199 51.3 Merchant \(52\) 13.4 Student \(9\) 2.4 Government employee 54 13.9 Others 58 14.9 No occupation 16 4.1 Household’s income status One third (34.2%) of mothers had monthly income of less than 2000 ETB. Fig 1: Below shows household’s income status. Family size Family size of 2–5 was 220 (57.7%) and family size of more than 5 was 160 (42.3%). Figure 2 : Below shows family size of participants Maternal health services utilization characteristics Most (42.7%) of the mothers were primi-parus; 152 (40%) were multi-parus while the rest (17.3%) were grand multi-parus. Among the participants, 305 (80%) attended at least the first visit of ante natal care. Majority, 212 (55.6%) of the mothers gave births at home while 166 (43.5%) of the mothers gave births at health facilities (either health center or hospital), and 3 (0.8%) of them gave births on the way to health facilities. One hundred and fifty two (39.8%) mothers did not attend the early post-natal care after home delivery. Majority (59.3%) of mother attended the post-natal care after several weeks of delivery while 24.4% and 16.3% of mothers attended the post-natal care after days and on the same day of delivery respectively. Mother’s knowledge of complementary feeding practices Among the participants, 253 (66.3%) had knowledge about appropriate complementary feeding practices while 225 (59%) of mother knew when to start the complementary feeding for their infants. On the other hand, 223 (58.5%) of them did not know the minimum dietary frequency, dietary diversity and minimum acceptable diet for complementary feeding in a day. Infants’ Complementary Feeding practices Assessment of complementary feeding practice was done using pre-determined questions provided to the study participants with ‘Yes/No’ options and the frequency in which they reported to practice based on actionable options were provided in the questionnaire. Three hundred and nine (81%) of infants had started the complementary feeding at the time of the interview of the participants. Among them, 219 (57.4%) of infants started the complementary feeding before 6 months of age. Majority (53.3%) of the infants started the complementary feeding by cow milk followed with porridge (22%), juice and egg (9.6%), packed milk (8%) and 7.4% gruel (atimit in local language). Most (83.8%) of the infants were fed the complementary feeding by their mothers, and bottle feeding was the most (52.3%) practiced method of feeding followed by hand feeding (24.3%) and cup and spoon feeding (23.4%). Mothers or care givers reported to always wash their hands (40.4%) before feeding to keep food hygiene. Minimum meal frequency, minimum dietary diversity and Minimum acceptable diet during complementary feeding of infants Minimum Meal frequency One hundred and thirty six (44%) of infants reach minimum meal frequency. The mean meal frequency for all the aged infants 6–24 months old was 4.35 (± 1.24) (95% CI 3.3–5.4). Minimum dietary diversity Out of those infants who started complementary feeding, only 49 (16%) infants achieve minimum dietary diversity Minimum acceptable diet Minimum acceptable diet is to indicate those infants who had at least the minimum dietary diversity and meal frequency in the last 24 hours. Accordingly, 59 (19%) infants consumed a minimum acceptable diet. Complementary feeding practices determining factors Factors associated with minimum dietary diversity, minimum meal frequency and minimum acceptable diet The adjusted odds ratios from the multivariate logistic regressions for the factors associated with minimum dietary diversity compliance (95% CI) are presented (Tables 4 and 5). Among demographic and socio-economic factors, mother’s/care taker’s age is a significant predictor of minimum dietary diversity (see Table 4 below). Table 4 Significant relationship between demographic and socio-economic factors and complementary feeding practices (combined attainment of minimum meal frequency, minimum dietary diversity and minimum acceptable diet) Characteristics complementary feeding practices P- value Mothers’ age (n=395) in years Yes No Total 0.039* N % N % n % 35 13 37.1 22 62.6 35 8.9 Mother’s occupation complementary feeding practices 0.045* Yes No Total N % N % N % Employed 29 66 15 34 44 11.2 Not employed 137 39 214 61 351 88.8 Husband’s occupation complementary feeding practices 0.040* Yes No Total N % N % N % Employed 79 74.5 27 25.5 106 27 Not employed 123 43.6 159 56.4 282 73 Mothers whose age is young have two-fold higher odds of meeting minimum dietary diversity, meal frequency and minimum acceptable diet in infants feeding (2.4):(1.59–3.38), as compared to the mothers of old age. Parent’s occupation is a significant predictor of minimum dietary diversity meal frequency and minimum acceptable diet. Employed mothers and employed fathers have four-fold higher odds of meeting minimum dietary diversity, meal frequency and minimum acceptable diet in infants feeding (4.4): (3.57–5.29). Mothers/care takers who know about the recommendations and importance of complementary feeding practices have three-fold higher meeting minimum dietary diversity, meal frequency and minimum acceptable diet in infants feeding (3.3):(2.24–4.4), as compared to the mothers who do not know about the importance of complementary feeding practices for infants aged 6–24 months (see Table 5). Table 5 Significant relationship between mother’s knowledge on recommendations and importance of complementary feeding and complementary feeding practices (combined attainment of minimum meal frequency, minimum dietary diversity and minimum acceptable diet) Characteristics Complementary feeding practices (attaining minimum meal frequency, dietary diversity and acceptable diet) P value, Knowledge on the importance of complementary feeding of infants 0.008* Yes No Total N % N % N % Correct response by the mother 179 68.3 83 31.7 262 66.3 Incorrect response by the mother 54 31.7 79 68.3 133 33.7 Knowledge on recommendations of complementary feeding Complementary feeding practices (attaining minimum meal frequency, dietary diversity and acceptable diet) 0.033* Yes No Total n % N % N % Correct response by the mother 149 64 84 36 233 58.9 Incorrect response by the mother 59 36 103 64 162 41.1 Discussion In this study, we examined the level of attainment of minimum acceptable diet, meal frequency and dietary diversity and factors associated among infants between 6 and 24 months of age visiting Hawasa University Comprehensive Specialized Hospital. Findings revealed that, less than one-fifth of the infants met diet diversity criteria, about two-fifth met minimum meal frequency criteria, and, less than one-fifth met the minimum acceptable diet criteria. The lowest percentage of infants consumed minimum acceptable diet in the study area as compared to findings of other studies in different parts of the world especially in LMICs like Bangladesh 23% ( 25 ) and Nepal 36% ( 26 ). However, the percentage of infants who consumed minimum acceptable diet in the study area is higher than findings of the study conducted in India, which is 9.6% ( 24 ) and Afghanistan, which is 16% ( 27 ). The higher percentage as compared to those countries might be due to the fact that most of the participants were from urban societies contrary to the study conducted in India and Afghanistan whose participants were mostly from rural areas. Taking the findings in to account, poor dietary intake among infants in the study area is a thoughtful alarm as consumption of a diversified diet and attaining minimum acceptable diet is associated with adequate micronutrient intake and a lower risk of malnutrition in children in developing countries ( 23 , 27 ). The results of multivariate regression analysis show that mothers in young age group have higher odds of achieving minimum diet diversity and minimum acceptable diet than mothers in the older age groups. Our findings are in agreement with previous studies Pakistan ( 28 ). The possible explanation could be that mothers are particularly careful about their infants’ feeding requirements in their young age than in their older ages because in their young ages, they tend to follow and take care of their infants more frequently as number of children they have might be low. Parent’s (both mother and father) employment is also associated with complementary feeding practices in terms of attaining minimum acceptable diet. It could be because of employed parents are able to afford for infants’ foods and provide diversified food for their infants ( 29 ). Mother’s knowledge of importance of complementary feeding practices is also a significant predictor of minimum dietary diversity and minimum acceptable diet. Adjusted odds ratios show that infants whose mothers know the importance of complementary feeding practices have higher odds of receiving recommended diet, and it may be explained that knowledge of mothers to comply with the recommended dietary practices for infants contributed to practice based on recommendations ( 30 , 31 ).The positive correlation of a mother’s knowledge of complementary feeding practices for infants is generally interpreted as a mother’s level of awareness in the literature ( 27 , 32 ). Previous studies have also shown that mother’s knowledge predicts minimum diet diversity, acceptable diet and minimum meal frequency ( 22 , 30 ) Conclusion Overall, the current study shows that only 19% of the infants in the age group of 6–24 months receive the minimum acceptable diet which is significantly lower than other areas such as Nepal and Afghanistan. Poor complementary food practices are widespread. Our results show several factors associated with complementary feeding practices, including a mother’s age mother’s knowledge of complementary feeding practices recommendation, employment of parents (both mothers and fathers) of infants. It’s important to raise awareness of mothers/care takers of infants through health practitioners in addition to ensuring employment of parents to ensure proper practices of complementary feeding among infants. Abbreviations AAP American Academy of Pediatrics EDHS Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey EMDHS Ethiopian mini Demographic and health survey ESPG HAN European Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition IYCF Infant and Young Child Feeding Practices SD Standard deviation UNICEF United Nations Children's Fund/ United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund WHO World Health Organization Declarations Author Contribution SGK: Wrote overall research methodology, Wrote the main manuscript text.HHN: wrote part of manuscript Acknowledgement We would like to thank Pharma College, post graduate program of Public Health. Our gratitude typically goes to the study participants and data collectors for their valuable time, commitment and their support in during the study. We want to express our appreciation for the Hawasa University Comprehensive Specialized Hospital for their assistance during the conduct of the study. 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(2012). a summary index of infant and child feeding practices is associated with child growth in urban shanghai. biomedcentral journal of public health, 12, 568. 2012;2012. National Institute of Population Research and Training (NIPORT). Mitra and Associates, ICF. Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey 2014. NIPORT, Mitra and Associates, and ICF International.; 2014. Ministry of Health. Nepal, New ERA, ICF. Nepal Demographic and Health Survey 2016. Ministry of Health, Nepal; 2017. Rah JH, Cronin AA, Badgaiyan B, Aguayo VM, Coates S, Ahmed S. Household sanitation and personal hygiene practices are associated with child stunting in rural India: a cross-sectional analysis of surveys. BMJ Open. 2015; 5(2):e005180. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2014-005180 PMID: 25678539. Complementary feeding practices. and associated factors among children aged 6–23 months in Pakistan Muhammad AliID1, Muhammad Arif2☯, Ashfaq Ah. Ni. laboratory evaluation of the pointing stability of the asps vernier system sperry flight systems phoenix, az 85036 [internet]. 1980. https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?r=19800019924 . Senarath U, Agho KE, Akram D-S et al. Comparisons of complementary feeding indicators and associated factors in children aged 6–23 months across five South Asian countries. Matern Child Nutr. 2012; 8 Suppl 1:89–106. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1740-8709.2011.00370.x PMID: 22168521. Kotwal j. ganguli p, ahmed r, sharma a, singh j. mixed phenotype acute leukemia of t/myeloid type with rare multiple cytogenetic abnormality of chromosome 8, 9, 11, 12, 16 and marker chromosome and dual blast population: a rare case. med res chronicles [internet]. 2015;2(3):394–8. available from: www.medrech.com. International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS), ICF. National Family Health Survey (NFHS-4), 2015–16: India. IIPS; 2017. Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. 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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-4243183","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":292161900,"identity":"b7faeaea-0135-4cf8-8c27-f3e903371d63","order_by":0,"name":"Dr. Shemsu Gabiso Kasim","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA9klEQVRIie2PsQrCMBRFEwJODa5O5hcKgj/jIgidDDp2qBIQ6iJ0LSj6C7p0rgTjUnCtxMHJT9C6qKkKutjgJpgDyXvDPeQGAIPhJymfsvus5JerDkJM59iVl5LkCvxGgX6+aRQSxM1a1+WAjAerxXnaa5SHSsnc6PMTaTNuhQkH9k44EkdrGnLI4CiRBa0g49iXamnXJYwEZUpB0P+skIDDAb5IQMLOcXueCDrTKSB2EMJMBdJ2KcXMo3OdYqskssTVslOnLi0R04VSlkV/IUGiFM+pkrB12GZen043fLnP3IJiT6zn5I+22vwb/W/CBoPB8CfcAIJLXOzjkrcfAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"Dr.","firstName":"Shemsu","middleName":"Gabiso","lastName":"Kasim","suffix":""},{"id":292161901,"identity":"9580e4fc-0fd3-4fc4-8dbe-37022a939750","order_by":1,"name":"Dr. Hilina Hailu Nigussie","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"Dr.","firstName":"Hilina","middleName":"Hailu","lastName":"Nigussie","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2024-04-09 16:14:22","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4243183/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4243183/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":55251538,"identity":"c5651b9d-eade-4add-b7a1-e4bf189ad682","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-04-24 17:40:40","extension":"png","order_by":1,"title":"Figure 1","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":60052,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eHouseholds income status,\u003cstrong\u003e \u003c/strong\u003ecomplementary feeding practices and associated factors of infants (6-24 months age) attending Hawasa University Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, Sidama Region, Ethiopia,\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"1.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4243183/v1/8dd1df792287ffa8057fd58d.png"},{"id":55251540,"identity":"9ae9bbc1-2314-4f90-be00-6f051b62933c","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-04-24 17:40:40","extension":"png","order_by":2,"title":"Figure 2","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":20543,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eFamily size, omplementary feeding practices and associated factors of infants (6-24 months age) attending Hawasa University Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, Sidama Region, Ethiopia, 2022.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"2.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4243183/v1/6900199d71810fd988e19de7.png"},{"id":55252450,"identity":"86a61faa-b8fc-4381-bb2a-f627c048480f","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-04-24 17:48:42","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":874515,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4243183/v1/c551bcd5-1b28-4df0-89a2-491cfd924092.pdf"},{"id":55251539,"identity":"459e07a5-d305-4e1d-8438-cdc157164e20","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-04-24 17:40:40","extension":"docx","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":29771,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Additionalfle1.TableS1.docx","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4243183/v1/193b224cd67efa66d6b03503.docx"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003eComplementary Feeding Practices and Associated Factors for Infants Attending Hawasa University Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, Sidama Region, Southern Ethiopia\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[{"header":"Introduction","content":"\u003cp\u003eAdequate nutrition during infancy and early childhood is fundamental to the development of each child\u0026rsquo;s full human potential. It is well recognized that the period from birth to two years of age is a \u0026ldquo;critical window\u0026rdquo; for the promotion of optimal growth, health and behavioral development (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e).The immediate consequences of poor nutrition during these formative years include significant morbidity and mortality and delayed mental and motor development. In the long-term, early nutritional deficits are linked to impairments in intellectual performance, work capacity, reproductive outcomes and overall health during adolescence and adulthood (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e).For this reason, it is essential to ensure that caregivers are provided with appropriate guidance regarding optimal complementary feeding of infants.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eComplementary feeding is defined as starting food and water when breast milk alone is no longer sufficient to meet the nutritional requirements of infants and therefore other foods and liquids are needed, along with breast milk. The target age range for complementary feeding is generally taken to be 6 to 24 months of age, even though breastfeeding may continue beyond two years (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFollowing the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations, timely introduction means that complementary feeding should be introduced at 6 months of age. Complementary feeding is needed from that age because breast milk or infant formula alone are not enough to cover the infant\u0026rsquo;s energy needs or provide sufficient amounts of certain nutrients such as protein, zinc, iron and fat-soluble vitamins (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eInfants are born with a store of iron in their liver that is sufficient for the first 6 months of life but after that the amount of iron in breast milk will not satisfy infants\u0026rsquo; nutritional requirements for iron (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR5\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e). In addition to timely introduction, the WHO also emphasizes diet diversity, meaning that a variety of the basic food groups should be included as part of the complementary feeding to ensure a heterogeneous nutrient intake that satisfies all nutrient needs in the growing infant (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR6\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e6\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe need of infants for energy and nutrients start to exceed what is provided by breast milk at the age of 6 months and complementary foods are necessary to meet those needs. Most of the times there are problems related to practicing complementary feeding for infants in most areas of the world. The problems are complementary foods are often provided to the infants of inadequate nutritional quality, or they are given too early or too late, or in too small amounts, or not frequently enough. If the feeds are given inappropriately, the growth of the infant may be faltered (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR7\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e7\u003c/span\u003e). In many developing countries, the incidence of under-nutrition usually increases during the period of complementary feeding from the age of 6 to 18 months (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR7\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e7\u003c/span\u003e). The occurrence of early nutritional deficits is linked to long-term impairments in child growth and health (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR7\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e7\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAccording to the 2019 mini Demographic and Health Survey (mEDHS), the Ethiopian national prevalence of appropriate complementary feeding practices among infants was 41% (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e8\u003c/span\u003e). Contrary to the WHO recommendation that children under the age of 6 months should not start complementary feeding, 14% of infants 0\u0026ndash;5 months consume plain water, 1% of infants consume non-milk liquids, 8% consume milk, and 9% of infants under 6 months use a bottle with a nipple, a practice that is discouraged because of the risk of exposing the child to illness (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e8\u003c/span\u003e). However, the regional variation (among the regions of Ethiopia) of complementary feeding practice was not separately addressed by the Ethiopian Mini Demographic and Health Survey, 2019 (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e8\u003c/span\u003e). The mini EDHS also revealed that, 37.2% of infants in Ethiopia meet the criteria of dietary diversity and feeding frequency that are appropriate for their age. Thus, only few children receive nutritionally adequate and safe complementary food (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e8\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eInappropriate complementary feeding practice may result in malnutrition and cause various diseases. Almost half (45%) of all children\u0026rsquo;s deaths are associated with malnutrition, while children in sub-Saharan Africa are more than 14 times likely to die before the age of 5 than children in developed regions (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e9\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eUntil now, indicators used to measure infant and young child feeding practices in population-based surveys have focused mostly on breastfeeding practices (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR10\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e10\u003c/span\u003e). Considerations were not given to quantity and quality of complementary foods and feeding practices including dietary diversity like breast feeding. Meanwhile, inadequate knowledge about appropriate foods and the feeding practices are often greater determinants of malnutrition than mere lack of food (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR11\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e11\u003c/span\u003e). Having a better complementary feeding knowledge and practices among mothers of infants will prevent the consequences of malnutrition thereby enabling children to receive appropriate nutrition and consequently achieve their full human potential (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR12\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e12\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOptimal complementary feeding practices depends not only for what is feed, but also on how, when, where and by whom the child is feed (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e9\u003c/span\u003e). In many developing countries, less than 25% of infants within the age 6\u0026ndash;24 months meet the criteria of dietary diversity and feeding frequency that are appropriate for their age (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR13\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e13\u003c/span\u003e). Thus, only few children receive nutritionally adequate and safe complementary food (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR14\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e14\u003c/span\u003e). In Ethiopia, according to the Demographic and Health Survey, more than 70% of infants are given complementary food too early which is usually of poor nutritional values (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR5\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e). Study also shows that only 37.2% of infants receive nutritionally adequate and safe complementary food in Ethiopia though inappropriate complementary feeding practice may result in malnutrition and cause various diseases. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR15\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e15\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThus this study will assess the complementary feeding practices and associated factors for infants attending Hawasa University Comprehensive Specialized Hospital assessing the level of attainment of minimum acceptable diet, meal frequency and dietary diversity during complementary feeding of infants in addition to identifying factors affecting complementary feeding practices for infants.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec2\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eSignificance of the study\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eAcknowledging this, the interest in the complementary feeding practices and associated factors of infants is not incidental; rather it is influenced by a thorough observation and experience in the child health program. On top of this acknowledgement, finding of this study will also provide clear evidence of complementary feeding practices and associated factors for infants in the study areas to assist healthcare providers and managers to plan for further improvement of the program of infant\u0026rsquo;s complementary feeding practices.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Methods","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec4\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\n \u003ch2\u003eStudy design and settings\u003c/h2\u003e\n \u003cdiv id=\"Sec5\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e\n \u003ch2\u003eStudy design\u003c/h2\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eCross sectional study design was applied to assess complementary feeding practices and associated factors for infants (6\u0026ndash;24 months of age) attending Hawassa University Comprehensive Specialized Hospital .\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"Sec6\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\n \u003ch2\u003eStudy settings and period\u003c/h2\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eThe study was conducted in Hawassa University Comprehensive specialized hospital, found in Hawasa city, Capital of Sidama Region. Hawassa City is located at 275 km South-East of Addis Ababa, capital city of Ethiopia. Based on the hospital\u0026rsquo;s report, a total of 14651 patients of pediatric age were served in the hospital in 202.The pediatric ward has estimated monthly admissions of 928\u0026ndash;1352 patients (\u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e16\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eThe study was conducted from July 1/2022 to September 30/2022 G.C.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"Sec7\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\n \u003ch2\u003eSource population\u003c/h2\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eAll pediatrics patients who visited Hawasa University Comprehensive Specialized Hospital during the study period were source population.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"Sec8\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\n \u003ch2\u003eStudy population\u003c/h2\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eAll infants, up to 24 months of age, who attended pediatrics Out Patient Department, pediatrics ward, Expanded Program for Immunization and pediatrics follow up clinics, were study population.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cdiv id=\"Sec9\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e\n \u003ch2\u003eInclusion criteria and exclusion criteria\u003c/h2\u003e\n \u003cdiv id=\"Sec10\" class=\"Section4\"\u003e\n \u003ch2\u003eInclusion criteria\u003c/h2\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eAll infants whose age limit were 6\u0026ndash;24 months were included\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"Sec11\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\n \u003ch2\u003eExclusion criteria\u003c/h2\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eInfants whose attendant (care giver) were unable to provide information due to various reason like lacking infant\u0026rsquo;s complementary feeding history/information or unable to communicate due to illnesses were excluded\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"Sec12\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\n \u003ch2\u003eSample size and sampling technique\u003c/h2\u003e\n \u003cdiv id=\"Sec13\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e\n \u003ch2\u003eSample size determination\u003c/h2\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eSample size was calculated using single population proportion formula using the following assumptions with 37.2% prevalence (p) of appropriate complementary feeding practice in Debretabor Hospital (\u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e17\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cul\u003e\n \u003cli\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eDesired precision (d)\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;5%,\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eConfidence level\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;95% (\u0026Zeta;\u0026alpha;/2\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;1.96 value)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e37.2% of the prevalence (p) of appropriate complementary feeding practice in Debretabor Hospital was considered.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/li\u003e\n \u003c/ul\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eHence, the calculated sample size using the formula\u003c/p\u003e\u003cimg src=\"data:image/png;base64,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\" style=\"width: 241px;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"Sec14\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhere\u003c/strong\u003e,\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003en\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;is a required sample size\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eP\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;37.2% (0.372) as mentioned above\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eq\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;1-p\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003cimg 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\" style=\"width: 776px;\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"Sec15\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eAdding up the estimated 10% non- response rate, which is 36, the total sample size was \u003cstrong\u003e395\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"Sec16\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\n \u003ch2\u003eSampling procedure and technique\u003c/h2\u003e\n \u003cul\u003e\n \u003cli\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eSimple random sampling technique was employed to select the study participants.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/li\u003e\n \u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"Sec17\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\n \u003ch2\u003eStudy variables\u003c/h2\u003e\n \u003cdiv id=\"Sec18\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e\n \u003ch2\u003eIndependent variable\u003c/h2\u003e\n \u003cdiv id=\"Sec19\" class=\"Section4\"\u003e\n \u003ch2\u003eSocio-economic and demographic characteristics such as:\u003c/h2\u003e\n \u003cul\u003e\n \u003cli\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eage of the mother\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003e\n \u003cp\u003emarital status of the mother\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003e\n \u003cp\u003efamily size\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eeducational status of the mother/care taker\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003e\n \u003cp\u003ehusband\u0026rsquo;s educational status\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eoccupational status of the mother/care takers\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003e\n \u003cp\u003efamily income\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eReligion of mothers\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/li\u003e\n \u003c/ul\u003e\n \u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"Sec20\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\n \u003ch2\u003eMaternal health service and related characteristics such as:\u003c/h2\u003e\n \u003cul\u003e\n \u003cli\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eParity\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003e\n \u003cp\u003ePlace of delivery\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003e\n \u003cp\u003ePNC visit\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/li\u003e\n \u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"Sec21\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\n \u003ch2\u003eKnowledge of mothers/care takers/ of complementary feeding practices\u003c/h2\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChild related characteristics such as\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eAge of the infant\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"Sec22\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\n \u003ch2\u003eDependent variables\u003c/h2\u003e\n \u003cul\u003e\n \u003cli\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eComplementary feeding practices\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/li\u003e\n \u003c/ul\u003e\n \u003cdiv id=\"Sec23\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e\n \u003ch2\u003eOperational definition\u003c/h2\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eInfants\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eIn this study infants are those children 6 months up to 24 month of age(\u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e14\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eComplementary feeding\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eis the process of starting additional foods and liquids aside from breast milk because breast milk alone is no longer sufficient to meet the nutritional requirements of infants after 6 months of age (\u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e). In this study, the level of complementary feeding is categorized as optimal or sub-optimal based on the World Health Organization\u0026rsquo;s recommendation of infant and young child feeding (\u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e18\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e19\u003c/span\u003e)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eComplementary feeding practices\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eis the process of practicing and attaining minimum dietary diversity, minimum meal frequency and minimum acceptable diet for infants of age 6\u0026ndash;24 months (\u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e21\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMinimum Dietary Diversity\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eIs said to be attained when infants 6\u0026ndash;24 months of age who consume from 4 or more of the 7 food groups (grains/tubers/roots, legumes/nuts, milk/diary product, eggs, vitamin A rich, flesh foods and other fruits and vegetables) with 24 hours dietary recall (\u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e18\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMinimum Meal Frequency\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eIs said to be attained when infants of age 6\u0026ndash;24 months fed a minimum of three meals per day within a 24-hour dietary recall period (\u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e18\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMinimum Acceptable Diet (MAD)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eA composite indicator of minimum dietary diversity and minimum meal frequency. Proportion of children 6\u0026ndash;24 months of age who received a minimum diversified diet and minimum meal frequency (apart from breast milk) is said to be MAD fulfilled (\u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e18\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"Sec24\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\n \u003ch2\u003eMeasurement of variables\u003c/h2\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eMinimum dietary diversity is based on the WHO recommendation of consuming at least four food groups out of seven to provide necessary nutrients and energy for the child to ensure normal growth (\u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e18\u003c/span\u003e). The Ethiopian guidelines for Infants and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) also recommends food groups for IYCF and the practices can be assessed based on the mother\u0026rsquo;s 24-hour recall of foods given to her child (\u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e19\u003c/span\u003e). The seven food groups covered in the guidelines for young children (infants) between 6\u0026ndash;24 months of age include grains, roots, and tubers; legumes and nuts; dairy products (milk, yogurt); flesh foods (meat, fish, poultry and liver/organ meats; eggs; vitamin- A-rich fruits and vegetables; and other fruits and vegetables. Minimum meal frequency is defined as the proportion of infants between 6\u0026ndash;24 months of age (breastfed or otherwise) who received solid, semi-solid, or soft foods for at least the minimum number of times recommended by the World Health Organization (\u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e18\u003c/span\u003e). For non-breastfed infants, milk is also considered in calculating the minimum food-frequency (\u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e19\u003c/span\u003e). The definition of \u0026ldquo;minimum\u0026rdquo; varies by age. Breastfed infants between 6 and 8 months of age and between 9 and 24 months of age should consume solid or semi-solid food minimum twice a day and thrice a day, respectively. Non-breastfed children infants 6 and 24 months of age should consume solid or semi-solid food at least four times a day, and also, they should intake dairy or formula milk (\u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e20\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eA minimum acceptable diet is a combination of diet diversity and meal frequency variables where a breastfed infant 6\u0026ndash;24 months of age is considered to be receiving a minimum acceptable diet if he had at least the minimum dietary diversity and meal frequency in the last 24 hours. Similarly, a non-breastfed infant 6\u0026ndash;24 months of age is considered to be receiving a minimum acceptable diet if he has received at least two milk feedings with minimum dietary diversity (excluding milk) and minimum meal frequency in the last 24 hours (\u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e18\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e19\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cdiv id=\"Sec25\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e\n \u003ch2\u003eData collection technique and instruments\u003c/h2\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eQuantitative data were collected using a pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire, adapted from similar studies and the WHO\u0026rsquo;s guidelines of complementary feeding, infants and young child nutrition (\u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e18\u003c/span\u003e). Data were collected from mothers or care takers of the infants by using face-to-face interviews. Questionnaire was developed in English and was translated into local language and then was translated back to English during data analysis to ensure the consistence of information.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/div\u003e\n \u003cdiv id=\"Sec26\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e\n \u003ch2\u003eData quality assurance\u003c/h2\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eTo ensure data quality, data collectors were adequately trained on data collection procedures and a researcher followed and monitored the process of data collection thoroughly. Access to data for unauthorized personnel was restricted to maintain data quality during coding and data entering.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"Sec27\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\n \u003ch2\u003eData analysis\u003c/h2\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eData coding, entering, and cleaning was done using the EPI Info 6 software version then, the SPSS software of version 25 was used, and descriptive data analysis was computed. Bivariate and multivariate analysis was conducted to analyze the association between child characteristic and family socio-economic characteristics with complementary feeding practice. Chi-square test with a confidence level of 95% was used to analyze the association between family\u0026rsquo;s socio-economic and demography characteristics with complementary feeding practice.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"Sec28\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\n \u003ch2\u003eEthical consideration\u003c/h2\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eThe approval to conduct the study, through the ethical clearance, was obtained from Hawasa University College of Medical and Health Sciences Institutional Review Board (IRB). All the ethical principles (Informed consent, autonomy, Beneficence, justice, confidentiality and anonymity, termination) were maintained during data collection, data analysis and dissemination of findings. Oral informed consent was obtained from mothers or care takers of their infants who participated in the study.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Results and Discussion","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec30\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\n \u003ch2\u003eSocio-demographic characteristics of study participants\u003c/h2\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eThree hundred and ninety-five (381) mothers and caregivers were interviewed during the study making response rate of 96.4%. The age ranges of majority of respondents (49.3%) were 18\u0026ndash;24 years followed by 25\u0026ndash;35 years (38.5%). The mean age of the respondents was 24.7 years with +/-2.1 Standard Deviation. Majority (97.7%) of the respondents were married. One hundred and fifty six (41%) of the participants had primary school education and 24.6% had secondary education while 6.6% of participants had college level education. However, 25.8% of had no formal education. More than half (52%) of the participants were Muslim by religion and 40.7% of the participants were protestant. Two hundred and six (54.2%) of the participants were Oromo by their ethnicity and 134 (35.2%) were Sidama by their ethnicity. More than half (59.6%) of infants were 6\u0026ndash;12 months by their age. The average size of a family was 4 (range from 2 to 6) people (see table 1 in separately attached document).\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\n \u003ctable id=\"Tab5\" border=\"1\"\u003e\n \u003ccaption\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 1\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003eSocio-demographic characteristics of the study population (n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;388)\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/caption\u003e\n \u003cthead\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003eSocio-demographic characteristics\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003eSample (n) Percent\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/thead\u003e\n \u003ctbody\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003eMaternal age (years):n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;395\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003e395\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;18\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003e3.3\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003e18\u0026ndash;24\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003e25\u0026ndash;35\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003e\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;35\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003eInfant\u0026rsquo;s age (months)\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003e395\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003e6\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003e8.4\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003e6-8.9\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003e9\u0026ndash;12\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003e27\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003e\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;12\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003e32\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003eFirst infant or not\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003e395\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003eYes\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003e155\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003e39.2\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003eNo\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003e240\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003e60.8\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003eAge of older infant (years)\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003e240\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;2\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003e17\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003e7\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003e\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;2\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003e223\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003e93\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003eSex of infant\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003e395\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003eMale\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003e229\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003e58\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003eFemale\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003e166\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003e42\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003eMarital status\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003e395\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003eSingle\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003e0.5\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003eMarried\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003e97.7\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003eWidowed\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003e0.75\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003eDivorced\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003e1\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003eMother\u0026rsquo;s educational status\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003e395\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003eNot educated\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003e102\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003e25.8\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003eAdult education\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003e8\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003e2\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003eGrade 1\u0026ndash;4\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003e83\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003e21\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003eGrade 5\u0026ndash;8\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003e79\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003e20\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003eGrade 9\u0026ndash;10\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003e83\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003e21\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003eGrade 11\u0026ndash;12\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003e14\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003e3.6\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003eCollege level education\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003e26\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003e6.6\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003eReligion\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003e395\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003eProtestant\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003e161\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003e40.7\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003eMuslim\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003e52.2\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003eOrthodox\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003e13\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003e3.3\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003eCatholic\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003e7\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003e1.8\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003eOthers\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003e8\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003e2.0\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003eEthnicity\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003e395\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003eSidama\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003e139\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003e35.2\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003eOromo\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003e214\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003e54.2\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003eAmhara\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003e13\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003e3.2\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003eWolaita\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003e19\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003e4.8\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003eGurage\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003e5\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003e1.3\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003eOther\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003e5\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"SimplePara\"\u003e1.3\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/tbody\u003e\n \u003c/table\u003e\n \u003c/div\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"Sec31\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\n \u003ch2\u003eSocio-economic characteristics of the households\u003c/h2\u003e\n \u003cdiv id=\"Sec32\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e\n \u003ch2\u003eHusband\u0026rsquo;s educational status\u003c/h2\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eMajority (59%) of the husbands had an educational status of primary education (grade 1\u0026ndash;8). There were no husbands who attended adult education and 67 (17.4%) had not educated at all while 45 (11.5%) had college level educational status (see Table\u0026nbsp;2 below).\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"colspec\" align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"colspec\" align=\"char\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003ctable id=\"Tab1\" border=\"1\"\u003e\n \u003ccaption\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 2\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eHusband\u0026rsquo;s educational status (n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;388)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/caption\u003e\n \u003cthead\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eLevel of education\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eFrequency\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003ePercent\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/thead\u003e\n \u003ctbody\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNot educated\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e67\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e17.4\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eAdult education\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"InlineEquation\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"mathinline\"\u003e\\(0\\)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eGrade 1\u0026ndash;4\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"InlineEquation\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"mathinline\"\u003e\\(126\\)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e32.5\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eGrade 5\u0026ndash;8\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e103\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e26.5\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eGrade 9\u0026ndash;10\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e14\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.6\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eGrade 11\u0026ndash;12\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e33\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e8.5\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eCollege level\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e45\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e11.5\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/tbody\u003e\n \u003c/table\u003e\n \u003c/div\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNine (2.3%) of the participants had no husband at the time of interview due to divorce/widow\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cdiv id=\"Sec33\" class=\"Section4\"\u003e\n \u003ch2\u003eHusband\u0026rsquo;s occupational status\u003c/h2\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eOne hundred and ninety-five (51.3%) of the participants\u0026rsquo; husbands were farmers in occupation, 52 (13.6%) were merchants, 54 (14.2%) formally employed and 16 (4.2%) unemployed. Most of the mothers (65.6%) were housewives by occupation (see Table\u0026nbsp;3 below).\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"colspec\" align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003ctable id=\"Tab2\" border=\"1\"\u003e\n \u003ccaption\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 3\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eThe husband\u0026rsquo;s occupational status (n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;388)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/caption\u003e\n \u003cthead\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eTypes of occupation\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eFrequency\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003cth align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003ePercent\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/th\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/thead\u003e\n \u003ctbody\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eFarmer\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e199\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e51.3\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eMerchant\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"InlineEquation\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"mathinline\"\u003e\\(52\\)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e13.4\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eStudent\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"InlineEquation\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"mathinline\"\u003e\\(9\\)\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e2.4\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eGovernment employee\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e54\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e13.9\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eOthers\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e58\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e14.9\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNo occupation\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e16\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"char\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4.1\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/tbody\u003e\n \u003c/table\u003e\n \u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/div\u003e\n \u003cdiv id=\"Sec34\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e\n \u003ch2\u003eHousehold\u0026rsquo;s income status\u003c/h2\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eOne third (34.2%) of mothers had monthly income of less than 2000 ETB.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFig 1: \u0026nbsp;Below shows\u003c/strong\u003e \u003cstrong\u003ehousehold\u0026rsquo;s income status.\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eFamily size\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFamily size of 2\u0026ndash;5 was 220 (57.7%) and family size of more than 5 was 160 (42.3%).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFigure 2\u003c/strong\u003e: \u003cstrong\u003eBelow shows\u003c/strong\u003e \u003cstrong\u003efamily size of participants\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eMaternal health services utilization characteristics\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMost (42.7%) of the mothers were primi-parus; 152 (40%) were multi-parus while the rest (17.3%) were grand multi-parus. Among the participants, 305 (80%) attended at least the first visit of ante natal care. Majority, 212 (55.6%) of the mothers gave births at home while 166 (43.5%) of the mothers gave births at health facilities (either health center or hospital), and 3 (0.8%) of them gave births on the way to health facilities. One hundred and fifty two (39.8%) mothers did not attend the early post-natal care after home delivery. Majority (59.3%) of mother attended the post-natal care after several weeks of delivery while 24.4% and 16.3% of mothers attended the post-natal care after days and on the same day of delivery respectively.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"Sec37\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\n \u003ch2\u003eMother\u0026rsquo;s knowledge of complementary feeding practices\u003c/h2\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eAmong the participants, 253 (66.3%) had knowledge about appropriate complementary feeding practices while 225 (59%) of mother knew when to start the complementary feeding for their infants. On the other hand, 223 (58.5%) of them did not know the minimum dietary frequency, dietary diversity and minimum acceptable diet for complementary feeding in a day.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cdiv id=\"Sec38\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e\n \u003ch2\u003eInfants\u0026rsquo; Complementary Feeding practices\u003c/h2\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eAssessment of complementary feeding practice was done using pre-determined questions provided to the study participants with \u0026lsquo;Yes/No\u0026rsquo; options and the frequency in which they reported to practice based on actionable options were provided in the questionnaire.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eThree hundred and nine (81%) of infants had started the complementary feeding at the time of the interview of the participants. Among them, 219 (57.4%) of infants started the complementary feeding before 6 months of age. Majority (53.3%) of the infants started the complementary feeding by cow milk followed with porridge (22%), juice and egg (9.6%), packed milk (8%) and 7.4% gruel (atimit in local language). Most (83.8%) of the infants were fed the complementary feeding by their mothers, and bottle feeding was the most (52.3%) practiced method of feeding followed by hand feeding (24.3%) and cup and spoon feeding (23.4%).\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eMothers or care givers reported to always wash their hands (40.4%) before feeding to keep food hygiene.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"Sec39\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\n \u003ch2\u003eMinimum meal frequency, minimum dietary diversity and Minimum acceptable diet during complementary feeding of infants\u003c/h2\u003e\n \u003cdiv id=\"Sec40\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e\n \u003ch2\u003eMinimum Meal frequency\u003c/h2\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eOne hundred and thirty six (44%) of infants reach minimum meal frequency. The mean meal frequency for all the aged infants 6\u0026ndash;24 months old was 4.35 (\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;1.24) (95% CI 3.3\u0026ndash;5.4).\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eMinimum dietary diversity\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOut of those infants who started complementary feeding, only 49 (16%) infants achieve minimum dietary diversity\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eMinimum acceptable diet\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMinimum acceptable diet is to indicate those infants who had at least the minimum dietary diversity and meal frequency in the last 24 hours. Accordingly, 59 (19%) infants consumed a minimum acceptable diet.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eComplementary feeding practices determining factors\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFactors associated with minimum dietary diversity, minimum meal frequency and minimum acceptable diet\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe adjusted odds ratios from the multivariate logistic regressions for the factors associated with minimum dietary diversity compliance (95% CI) are presented (Tables\u0026nbsp;4 and 5). Among demographic and socio-economic factors, mother\u0026rsquo;s/care taker\u0026rsquo;s age is a significant predictor of minimum dietary diversity (see Table\u0026nbsp;4 below).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"colspec\" align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTable 4\u003c/strong\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eSignificant relationship between demographic and socio-economic factors and\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ecomplementary feeding practices (combined attainment of minimum meal frequency, minimum dietary diversity and minimum acceptable diet)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003ctable border=\"1\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\"\u003e\n \u003ctbody\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"41.574803149606296%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 65.8096%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCharacteristics\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"43.62204724409449%\" colspan=\"6\" rowspan=\"2\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 13.2112%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ecomplementary feeding practices\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"14.803149606299213%\" rowspan=\"2\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 4.0208%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u0026nbsp;P- value\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"100%\" rowspan=\"3\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 65.8096%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eMothers\u0026rsquo; age (n=395) in years\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"26.1455525606469%\" colspan=\"2\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 4.4311%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"23.98921832884097%\" colspan=\"2\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 4.4311%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"24.528301886792452%\" colspan=\"2\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 4.4311%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eTotal\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"25.336927223719677%\" rowspan=\"2\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 4.0208%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.039*\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"15.16245487364621%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 2.0514%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eN\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"19.855595667870038%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 2.3796%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e%\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"15.16245487364621%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 2.0514%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eN\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"16.967509025270758%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 2.3796%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e%\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"17.32851985559567%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 2.0514%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003en\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"15.52346570397112%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 2.3796%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e%\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"41.574803149606296%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 65.8096%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;18\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"6.6141732283464565%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 2.0514%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e9\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"8.661417322834646%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 2.3796%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e69.2\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"6.6141732283464565%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 2.0514%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e4\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"7.4015748031496065%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 2.3796%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e30.8\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"7.559055118110236%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 2.0514%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e13\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"6.771653543307087%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 2.3796%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.3\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"14.803149606299213%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 4.0208%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"41.574803149606296%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 65.8096%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e18-24\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"6.6141732283464565%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 2.0514%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e113\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"8.661417322834646%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 2.3796%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e58\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"6.6141732283464565%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 2.0514%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e82\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"7.4015748031496065%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 2.3796%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e42\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"7.559055118110236%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 2.0514%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e195\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"6.771653543307087%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 2.3796%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e49.3\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"14.803149606299213%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 4.0208%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"41.574803149606296%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 65.8096%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e25-35\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"6.6141732283464565%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 2.0514%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e71\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"8.661417322834646%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 2.3796%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e46.7\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"6.6141732283464565%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 2.0514%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e81\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"7.4015748031496065%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 2.3796%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e53.3\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"7.559055118110236%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 2.0514%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e152\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"6.771653543307087%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 2.3796%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e38.5\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"14.803149606299213%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 4.0208%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"41.574803149606296%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 65.8096%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026gt;35\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"6.6141732283464565%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 2.0514%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e13\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"8.661417322834646%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 2.3796%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e37.1\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"6.6141732283464565%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 2.0514%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e22\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"7.4015748031496065%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 2.3796%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e62.6\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"7.559055118110236%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 2.0514%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e35\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"6.771653543307087%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 2.3796%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e8.9\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"14.803149606299213%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 4.0208%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"41.574803149606296%\" rowspan=\"3\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 65.8096%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eMother\u0026rsquo;s occupation\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"43.62204724409449%\" colspan=\"6\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 13.2112%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ecomplementary feeding practices\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"14.803149606299213%\" rowspan=\"2\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 4.0208%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.045*\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"35.018050541516246%\" colspan=\"2\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 4.4311%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"32.12996389891697%\" colspan=\"2\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 4.4311%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"32.851985559566785%\" colspan=\"2\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 4.4311%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eTotal\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"11.320754716981131%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 2.0514%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eN\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"14.824797843665769%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 2.3796%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e%\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"11.320754716981131%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 2.0514%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eN\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"12.668463611859838%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 2.3796%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e%\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"12.93800539083558%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 2.0514%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eN\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"11.590296495956874%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 2.3796%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e%\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"25.336927223719677%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 4.0208%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"41.574803149606296%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 65.8096%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eEmployed\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"6.6141732283464565%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 2.0514%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e29\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"8.661417322834646%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 2.3796%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e66\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"6.6141732283464565%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 2.0514%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e15\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"7.4015748031496065%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 2.3796%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e34\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"7.559055118110236%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 2.0514%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e44\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"6.771653543307087%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 2.3796%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e11.2\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"14.803149606299213%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 4.0208%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"41.574803149606296%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 65.8096%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNot employed\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"6.6141732283464565%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 2.0514%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e137\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"8.661417322834646%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 2.3796%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e39\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"6.6141732283464565%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 2.0514%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e214\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"7.4015748031496065%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 2.3796%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e61\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"7.559055118110236%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 2.0514%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e351\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"6.771653543307087%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 2.3796%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e88.8\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"14.803149606299213%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 4.0208%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"41.574803149606296%\" rowspan=\"3\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 65.8096%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eHusband\u0026rsquo;s occupation \u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"43.62204724409449%\" colspan=\"6\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 13.2112%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ecomplementary feeding practices\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"14.803149606299213%\" rowspan=\"3\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 4.0208%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.040*\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"35.018050541516246%\" colspan=\"2\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 4.4311%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"32.12996389891697%\" colspan=\"2\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 4.4311%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"32.851985559566785%\" colspan=\"2\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 4.4311%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eTotal\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"15.16245487364621%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 2.0514%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eN\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"19.855595667870038%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 2.3796%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e%\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"15.16245487364621%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 2.0514%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eN\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"16.967509025270758%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 2.3796%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e%\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"17.32851985559567%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 2.0514%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eN\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"15.52346570397112%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 2.3796%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e%\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"41.574803149606296%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 65.8096%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eEmployed\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"6.6141732283464565%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 2.0514%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e79\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"8.661417322834646%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 2.3796%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e74.5\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"6.6141732283464565%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 2.0514%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e27\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"7.4015748031496065%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 2.3796%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e25.5\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"7.559055118110236%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 2.0514%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e106\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"6.771653543307087%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 2.3796%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e27\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"14.803149606299213%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 4.0208%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"41.574803149606296%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 65.8096%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNot employed\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"6.6141732283464565%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 2.0514%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e123\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"8.661417322834646%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 2.3796%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e43.6\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"6.6141732283464565%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 2.0514%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e159\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"7.4015748031496065%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 2.3796%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e56.4\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"7.559055118110236%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 2.0514%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e282\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"6.771653543307087%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 2.3796%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e73\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"14.803149606299213%\" valign=\"top\" style=\"width: 4.0208%;\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/tbody\u003e\n \u003c/table\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"colspec\" align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMothers whose age is young have two-fold higher odds of meeting minimum dietary diversity, meal frequency and minimum acceptable diet in infants feeding (2.4):(1.59\u0026ndash;3.38), as compared to the mothers of old age. Parent\u0026rsquo;s occupation is a significant predictor of minimum dietary diversity meal frequency and minimum acceptable diet. Employed mothers and employed fathers have four-fold higher odds of meeting minimum dietary diversity, meal frequency and minimum acceptable diet in infants feeding (4.4): (3.57\u0026ndash;5.29).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMothers/care takers who know about the recommendations and importance of complementary feeding practices have three-fold higher meeting minimum dietary diversity, meal frequency and minimum acceptable diet in infants feeding (3.3):(2.24\u0026ndash;4.4), as compared to the mothers who do not know about the importance of complementary feeding practices for infants aged 6\u0026ndash;24 months (see Table\u0026nbsp;5).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"colspec\" align=\"left\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003ctable id=\"Tab4\" border=\"1\"\u003e\n \u003ccaption\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 5\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eSignificant relationship between mother\u0026rsquo;s knowledge on recommendations and importance of complementary feeding and complementary feeding practices (combined attainment of minimum meal frequency, minimum dietary diversity and minimum acceptable diet)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/caption\u003e\n \u003ctbody\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eCharacteristics\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd colspan=\"6\" rowspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eComplementary feeding practices\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e(attaining minimum meal frequency, dietary diversity and acceptable diet)\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eP value,\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd rowspan=\"3\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eKnowledge on the importance of complementary feeding of infants\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd rowspan=\"5\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.008*\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eTotal\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eN\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e%\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eN\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e%\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eN\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e%\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eCorrect response by the mother\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e179\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e68.3\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e83\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e31.7\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e262\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e66.3\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eIncorrect response by the mother\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e54\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e31.7\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e79\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e68.3\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e133\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e33.7\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd rowspan=\"3\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eKnowledge on recommendations of complementary feeding\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd colspan=\"6\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eComplementary feeding practices\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e(attaining minimum meal frequency, dietary diversity and acceptable diet)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd rowspan=\"5\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.033*\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd colspan=\"2\" align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eTotal\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003en\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e%\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eN\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e%\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eN\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e%\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eCorrect response by the mother\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e149\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e64\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e84\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e36\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e233\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e58.9\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eIncorrect response by the mother\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e59\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e36\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e103\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e64\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e162\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd align=\"left\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e41.1\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/tbody\u003e\n \u003c/table\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Discussion","content":"\u003cp\u003eIn this study, we examined the level of attainment of minimum acceptable diet, meal frequency and dietary diversity and factors associated among infants between 6 and 24 months of age visiting Hawasa University Comprehensive Specialized Hospital. Findings revealed that, less than one-fifth of the infants met diet diversity criteria, about two-fifth met minimum meal frequency criteria, and, less than one-fifth met the minimum acceptable diet criteria. The lowest percentage of infants consumed minimum acceptable diet in the study area as compared to findings of other studies in different parts of the world especially in LMICs like Bangladesh 23% (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR25\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e25\u003c/span\u003e) and Nepal 36% (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR26\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e26\u003c/span\u003e). However, the percentage of infants who consumed minimum acceptable diet in the study area is higher than findings of the study conducted in India, which is 9.6% (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR24\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e24\u003c/span\u003e) and Afghanistan, which is 16% (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR27\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e27\u003c/span\u003e). The higher percentage as compared to those countries might be due to the fact that most of the participants were from urban societies contrary to the study conducted in India and Afghanistan whose participants were mostly from rural areas.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTaking the findings in to account, poor dietary intake among infants in the study area is a thoughtful alarm as consumption of a diversified diet and attaining minimum acceptable diet is associated with adequate micronutrient intake and a lower risk of malnutrition in children in developing countries (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR23\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e23\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR27\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e27\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe results of multivariate regression analysis show that mothers in young age group have higher odds of achieving minimum diet diversity and minimum acceptable diet than mothers in the older age groups. Our findings are in agreement with previous studies Pakistan (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR28\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e28\u003c/span\u003e). The possible explanation could be that mothers are particularly careful about their infants\u0026rsquo; feeding requirements in their young age than in their older ages because in their young ages, they tend to follow and take care of their infants more frequently as number of children they have might be low.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eParent\u0026rsquo;s (both mother and father) employment is also associated with complementary feeding practices in terms of attaining minimum acceptable diet. It could be because of employed parents are able to afford for infants\u0026rsquo; foods and provide diversified food for their infants (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR29\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e29\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eMother\u0026rsquo;s knowledge of importance of complementary feeding practices is also a significant predictor of minimum dietary diversity and minimum acceptable diet. Adjusted odds ratios show that infants whose mothers know the importance of complementary feeding practices have higher odds of receiving recommended diet, and it may be explained that knowledge of mothers to comply with the recommended dietary practices for infants contributed to practice based on recommendations (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR30\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e30\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR31\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e31\u003c/span\u003e).The positive correlation of a mother\u0026rsquo;s knowledge of complementary feeding practices for infants is generally interpreted as a mother\u0026rsquo;s level of awareness in the literature (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR27\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e27\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR32\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e32\u003c/span\u003e). Previous studies have also shown that mother\u0026rsquo;s knowledge predicts minimum diet diversity, acceptable diet and minimum meal frequency (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR22\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e22\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR30\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e30\u003c/span\u003e)\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Conclusion","content":"\u003cp\u003eOverall, the current study shows that only 19% of the infants in the age group of 6\u0026ndash;24 months receive the minimum acceptable diet which is significantly lower than other areas such as Nepal and Afghanistan. Poor complementary food practices are widespread. Our results show several factors associated with complementary feeding practices, including a mother\u0026rsquo;s age mother\u0026rsquo;s knowledge of complementary feeding practices recommendation, employment of parents (both mothers and fathers) of infants. It\u0026rsquo;s important to raise awareness of mothers/care takers of infants through health practitioners in addition to ensuring employment of parents to ensure proper practices of complementary feeding among infants.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Abbreviations","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"DefinitionList\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"DefinitionListEntry\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"Term\"\u003eAAP\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"Description\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAmerican Academy of Pediatrics\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"DefinitionListEntry\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"Term\"\u003eEDHS\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"Description\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEthiopian Demographic and Health Survey\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"DefinitionListEntry\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"Term\"\u003eEMDHS\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"Description\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEthiopian mini Demographic and health survey\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"DefinitionListEntry\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"Term\"\u003eESPG HAN\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"Description\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEuropean Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"DefinitionListEntry\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"Term\"\u003eIYCF\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"Description\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eInfant and Young Child Feeding Practices\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"DefinitionListEntry\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"Term\"\u003eSD\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"Description\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eStandard deviation\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"DefinitionListEntry\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"Term\"\u003eUNICEF\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"Description\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eUnited Nations Children's Fund/ United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"DefinitionListEntry\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"Term\"\u003eWHO\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"Description\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eWorld Health Organization\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003ch2\u003eAuthor Contribution\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eSGK: Wrote overall research methodology, Wrote the main manuscript text.HHN: wrote part of manuscript\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eAcknowledgement\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eWe would like to thank Pharma College, post graduate program of Public Health. Our gratitude typically goes to the study participants and data collectors for their valuable time, commitment and their support in during the study. We want to express our appreciation for the Hawasa University Comprehensive Specialized Hospital for their assistance during the conduct of the study.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eData Availability\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eData will be provided in the manuscript or supplementary information files up on reasonable request.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAsoba gn. sumbele iun, anchang-kimbi jk, metuge s, teh rn. influence of infant feeding practices on the occurrence of malnutrition, malaria and anaemia in children 5 years in the mount cameroon area: a cross sectional study. plos one. 2019 jul 1;14(7).\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHealth a. the optimal duration of exclusive a systematic review. english [internet]. 2002;554:63\u0026ndash;77. \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttp://books.google.com/books?hl=en\u0026amp;lr=\u0026amp;id=xi3tmefsuu8c\u0026amp;oi=fnd\u0026amp;pg=pa1\u0026amp;dq=the+optimal+duration+of+exclusive+breastfeeding:+a+systematic+review\u0026amp;ots=bust1vr6t8\u0026amp;sig=fuv3jvyrtg8howfmjfk7g9-vhlw\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"http://books.google.com/books?hl=en\u0026amp;lr=\u0026amp;id=xi3tmefsuu8c\u0026amp;oi=fnd\u0026amp;pg=pa1\u0026amp;dq=the+optimal+duration+of+exclusive+breastfeeding:+a+systematic+review\u0026amp;ots=bust1vr6t8\u0026amp;sig=fuv3jvyrtg8howfmjfk7g9-vhlw\" targettype=\"URL\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eEngle. pl, bentley m, pelto g. the role of care in nutrition programmes: current research and a research agenda. proc nutr soc. 2000;59(1):25\u0026ndash;35.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSaldiva srdm. escuder mm, mondini l, levy rb, venancio si. pr\u0026aacute;ticas alimentares de crian\u0026ccedil;as de 6 a 12 meses e fatores maternos associados. j pediatr (rio j). 2007 jan;83(1):53\u0026ndash;8.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDewey kg. adu-afarwuah s. systematic review of the efficacy and effectiveness of complementary feeding interventions in developing countries. matern child nutr. 2008;4(suppl1):24\u0026ndash;85.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFederal democratic republic of ethiopia [internet]. 2019. available from: www.dhsprogram.com.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDewey kg. nutrition, growth, and complementary feeding of the breastfed infant. pediatr clin north am. 2001;48(1):87\u0026ndash;104.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAhmed ky. page a, arora a, ogbo fa. trends and factors associated with complementary feeding practices in ethiopia from 2005 to 2016. matern child nutr. 2020;16(2):1\u0026ndash;17.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eManikam l et al. robinson a, kuah jy, vaidya hj, alexander ec, miller gw,. a systematic review of complementary feeding practices in south asian infants and young children: the bangladesh perspective. bmc nutr. 2017;3(1):1\u0026ndash;14.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eInfant. and young child feeding model chapter for textbooks for medical students and allied health professionals.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eTaha. z, garemo m, nanda j. complementary feeding practices among infants and young children in abu dhabi, united arab emirates. bmc public health. 2020 aug 27;20(1).\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eEthiopian public health institute (EPHI) and icf. 2019. mini demographic and health survey 2019: key indicators. rockville, maryland, usa: ephi and icf. 2019. 35 p.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eOlatona mbbs. mph, fmcph fa, adenihun, mbbs jo, aderibigbe, mbbs, mph, fwacp sa, adeniyi, mbbs, fmcpaed of. complementary feeding knowledge, practices, and dietary diversity among mothers of under-five children in an urban community in lagos state, nigeria. vol. 6, international journal of maternal and child health and aids (ijma). 2017. pp. 46\u0026ndash;59.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eForsido. sf, kiyak n, belachew t, hensel o. complementary feeding practices, dietary diversity, and nutrient composition of complementary foods of children 6\u0026ndash;24 months old in jimma zone, southwest ethiopia. j health popul nutr. 2019 jun 3;38(1):14.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAndualem a. edmealem a, tegegne b, tilahun l, damtie y. timely initiation of complementary feeding and associated factors among mothers of children aged 6\u0026ndash;24 months in dessie referral hospital, northeast ethiopia, 2019. j nutr metab. 2020;2020.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHawasa University. Copmrehensive specialized hospital annual performance report for the year 2021, Hawasa, Sidama Region, Ethiopia: unpublished, but available through public e\u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003e-print/www.hucsh.gov.et2021rep.et\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"http://-print/www.hucsh.gov.et2021rep.et\" targettype=\"URL\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDagne ah et al. anteneh kt, badi mb, adhanu hh, ahunie ma, tebeje hd,. appropriate complementary feeding practice and associated factors among mothers having children aged 6\u0026ndash;24 months in debre tabor hospital, north west ethiopia, 2016. bmc res notes [internet]. 2019;12(1):1\u0026ndash;6. \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.1186/s13104-019-4259-3\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.1186/s13104-019-4259-3\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWHO. (2008a). indicators for assessing infant and young child feeding practices: part 1. conclusions of a consensus meeting held in washington d.c., usa.:2008.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eEthiopian National Guideline on Adolescent. Maternal Infant and Young Child Nutrition: June 2016 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNjeri ml. factors influencing exclusive breastfeeding among infants less than 6 months in kasarani informal settlement, molo district, kenya. 2012;(june):138.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHussein ak. (2005). breastfeeding and complementary feeding practices in tanzania. east african journal of public health, 2:1. 2005;2005.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eKhan gn. ariff s, khan u, habib a, umer m, suhag z, determinants of infant and young child feeding practices by mothers in two rural districts of sindh, pakistan: a cross-sectional survey. int breastfeed j. 2017 sep 16;12(1).\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eRomulus-nieuwelink. jc., doak, c., albernaz, e. cesar, g. victora, \u0026amp; hinke (2011) breast milk and complementary food intake in brazilian infants according to socio-economic position. Int J Pediatr Obes, 6: e508 \u0026ndash; e514. 2011;2011.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMa j. hu, y., liu, j., liu, s., zhang, j., sheng, x. (2012). a summary index of infant and child feeding practices is associated with child growth in urban shanghai. biomedcentral journal of public health, 12, 568. 2012;2012.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNational Institute of Population Research and Training (NIPORT). Mitra and Associates, ICF. Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey 2014. NIPORT, Mitra and Associates, and ICF International.; 2014.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMinistry of Health. Nepal, New ERA, ICF. Nepal Demographic and Health Survey 2016. Ministry of Health, Nepal; 2017.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eRah JH, Cronin AA, Badgaiyan B, Aguayo VM, Coates S, Ahmed S. Household sanitation and personal hygiene practices are associated with child stunting in rural India: a cross-sectional analysis of surveys. BMJ Open. 2015; 5(2):e005180. \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2014-005180\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.1136/bmjopen-2014-005180\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e PMID: 25678539.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eComplementary feeding practices. and associated factors among children aged 6\u0026ndash;23 months in Pakistan Muhammad AliID1, Muhammad Arif2☯, Ashfaq Ah.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNi. laboratory evaluation of the pointing stability of the asps vernier system sperry flight systems phoenix, az 85036 [internet]. 1980. \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?r=19800019924\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?r=19800019924\" targettype=\"URL\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSenarath U, Agho KE, Akram D-S et al. Comparisons of complementary feeding indicators and associated factors in children aged 6\u0026ndash;23 months across five South Asian countries. Matern Child Nutr. 2012; 8 Suppl 1:89\u0026ndash;106. \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.1111/j.1740-8709.2011.00370.x\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.1111/j.1740-8709.2011.00370.x\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e PMID: 22168521.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eKotwal j. ganguli p, ahmed r, sharma a, singh j. mixed phenotype acute leukemia of t/myeloid type with rare multiple cytogenetic abnormality of chromosome 8, 9, 11, 12, 16 and marker chromosome and dual blast population: a rare case. med res chronicles [internet]. 2015;2(3):394\u0026ndash;8. available from: www.medrech.com.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eInternational Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS), ICF. National Family Health Survey (NFHS-4), 2015\u0026ndash;16: India. IIPS; 2017.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ol\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"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":"bmc-public-health","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"pubh","sideBox":"Learn more about [BMC Public Health](http://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"https://www.editorialmanager.com/pubh/default.aspx","title":"BMC Public Health","twitterHandle":"@BMC_series","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"BMC Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Complementary feeding practices, infants, Hawasa University CSH","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4243183/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4243183/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003ch2\u003eBackground\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eComplementary feeding is defined as the process of starting additional food when breast milk alone is no longer sufficient to meet the nutritional requirements of infants. Inadequate infant feeding are the major causes of infant mortality and under-nutrition. Yet, very little is known about the determinants of complementary feeding practices in study area. This study assessed complementary feeding practices and associated factors for infants in Hawasa University Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, Sidama Region, Ethiopia.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eMethods\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eCross sectional study design was used to assess complementary feeding practices and associated factors for infants attending Hawasa University Comprehensive Specialized Hospital.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eResult\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThree hundred and ninety-five (395) mothers or caregivers were interviewed during the study making the response rate of 100%. More than half (66.3%) of respondents reported that they knew the reason for initiating complementary feeding while 58.9% knew when to start the complementary feeding for their infants; however 58.5% of them did not know the minimum frequency of complementary feeding in a day. The mean meal frequency for infants was 4.35 (\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;1.24) (95% CI 3.3\u0026ndash;3.6). The results show that only 19% of infants consume a minimum acceptable diet, 16% achieve minimum dietary diversity, and 44% reach minimum meal frequency. Multivariate regression analysis shows that mother\u0026rsquo;s/care taker\u0026rsquo;s knowledge about proper complementary feeding, mother\u0026rsquo;s age, mother\u0026rsquo;s employment status and father\u0026rsquo;s employment status are significant predictors of complementary feeding practices among infants aged 6\u0026ndash;24 months in the study area.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eConclusion\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eInfants\u0026rsquo; complementary feeding practices fell below the World Health Organization recommended level in terms of minimum acceptable diet and minimum meal frequency and minimum dietary diversity among infants aged 6\u0026ndash;24 months in Hawasa University Comprehensive Specialized hospital. It\u0026rsquo;s important to raise awareness of mothers/care takers of infants through health practitioners in addition to ensuring employment of infants\u0026rsquo; parents to ensure proper practices of complementary feeding among infants.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Complementary Feeding Practices and Associated Factors for Infants Attending Hawasa University Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, Sidama Region, Southern Ethiopia","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2024-04-24 17:40:36","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4243183/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2024-04-17T05:32:11+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2024-04-16T20:13:20+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"BMC Public Health","date":"2024-04-09T16:07:59+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"bmc-public-health","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"pubh","sideBox":"Learn more about [BMC Public Health](http://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"https://www.editorialmanager.com/pubh/default.aspx","title":"BMC Public Health","twitterHandle":"@BMC_series","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"BMC Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"8ec2fa50-fbe5-4b0b-892d-863d7784282f","owner":[],"postedDate":"April 24th, 2024","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"under-review","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2024-04-24T17:40:36+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2024-04-24 17:40:36","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-4243183","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-4243183","identity":"rs-4243183","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"qtupq5eGEP_6zYnWcrvyt","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}