Infant Young Child Feeding Practices in an Indian Maternal-Child Birth Cohort in Belagavi, Karnataka

• Authors: Usha Ramakrishnan, Emory University; Aryeh Stein, Emory University; Dorairaj Prabhakaran, Emory University; Dimple Kondal, Emory University; S Khandelwal, Publ Hlth Fdn India; AR Chakravarti, University of Calcutta; S Dutta; B Banerjee, University of Calcutta; M Chaudhry, Publ Hlth Fdn India; K Patil, KAHERs JN Med Coll; MK Swamy, KAHERs JN Med Coll; N Tandon, All India Inst Med Sci
• Journal Title: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH
• Volume: Volume 19, Number 9
• Publisher: MDPI | 2022-05-01
• Type of Work: Article
• Publisher DOI: http://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19095088
• Keywords: Science & Technology; Life Sciences & Biomedicine; Environmental Sciences; Public, Environmental & Occupational Health; Environmental Sciences & Ecology; infant young child feeding practices; diet diversity; anthropometry; complementary foods; South India; breastfeeding; DIETARY DIVERSITY; MEAL FREQUENCY; INCOME; UNDERNUTRITION; PREVALENCE; IMPACT

Abstract

Poor infant young child feeding (IYCF) practices result in malnutrition, poor psychosocial development, poor school performance and less productivity in later life, thereby perpetuating a vicious cycle. The current study aims to characterize the IYCF practices during the first year of life in a maternal–child birth cohort (DHANI) in Belagavi, Karnataka, India. We collected data from the dyad at birth, 6 and 12 months postpartum. We examined dietary diversity among these infants at 12 months using WHO criteria. A total of 902 live births were recorded, and 878 mother–child pairs completed the 12-month follow up. The overall prevalence of early (within 1 h of delivery) initiation of breastfeeding (EIBF) was 77.9%, and that of exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) at 6 months was 52.4%. At 12 months, most (90%) infants were breastfed, while 39% also received formula. The large majority (94.4%) of infants met minimum meal frequency (MMF), but only 55% of infants were receiving a minimum acceptable diet (MAD). The mean dietary diversity (DD) score was 4.7 ± 1.1. Only 21.9% of infants consumed egg and/or flesh food. A large proportion (33.8%) of infants received no vegetables and/or fruits till 12 months of age. Consumption of sweet beverage was 4.8%, but consumption of ultra-processed foods high in trans-fats, sugars and salt was high (85.8%). High-quality, sustainable and scalable interventions to enhance knowledge and support positive behaviour change for adopting and implementing better IYCF practices may be urgently needed in low-and middle-income group settings to improve diet diversity and overall nutritional intake amongst young children.