Ethiopia Adolescents' Attitudes and Expectations Deviate from Current Infant and Young Child Feeding Recommendations

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Craig Hadley, Emory University; David Lindstrom, Brown University; Tefera Belachew, Jimma University; Fasil Tessema, Jimma University
• Language: English
• Date: 2008-09
• Publisher: Elsevier: 12 months
• Publication Version: Author Accepted Manuscript (After Peer Review)
• Copyright Statement: © 2008 Society for Adolescent Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
• License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommerical-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2007.01.015
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Journal of Adolescent Health
• ISSN: 1054-139X
• Volume: 43
• Issue: 3
• Start Page: 253
• End Page: 259
• Grant/Funding Information: Funding for this study comes from the Packard Foundation, Compton Foundation, and NIH.
• Keywords: cultural determinants of nutrition; care; youth; parenting; East Africa
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Nutrition; Health Sciences, Public Health

Abstract

Purpose Sub-optimal infant and child feeding practices are highly prevalent in many developing countries for reasons that are not entirely understood. Taking an anthropological perspective, we assess whether nulliparous youth have formulated attitudes and expectations in the domain of infant and child feeding behaviors, the extent to which these varied by location and gender, and the extent to which they deviated from current international recommendations. Methods A population-based sample of 2077 adolescent girls and boys (13–17 years) in southwest Ethiopia answered a questionnaire on infant and young child feeding behaviors. Results Results indicate high levels of agreement among adolescents on items relating to infant and young child feeding behaviors. Attitudes and intentions deviated widely from current international recommendations. Youth overwhelmingly endorsed items related to early introduction of non-breast milk liquids and foods. For girls, fewer than 11% agreed that a 5 month infant should be exclusively breastfed and only 26% agreed that a 6 month infant should be consuming some animal source foods. Few sex differences emerged and youth responses matched larger community patterns. Conclusions The results indicate that attitudes and expectations deviate widely from current international child feeding guidelines among soon to be parents. To the extent that youth models are directive, these findings suggest that youth enter into parenthood with suboptimal information about infant and child feeding. Such information will reproduce poor health across generations as the largest cohort of adolescents ever become parents. These results suggest specific points of entry for adolescent nutrition education interventions.