Abstract:
The number of children who die before the age of five is excessively high and they are associated with high prevalence of malnutrition. Poor breast-feeding and complementary feeding practices among other factors exacerbate the problem of malnutrition. The main objective of this study was to determine nutritional status and association of breastfeeding and complementary feeding practices of children aged 1 to 24 months in Kwale County. This was a cross-sectional study nested within an on-going Health and Demographic Surveillance System (HDSS) in Kwale County. A sample of 380 mother child pair were obtained by simple random sampling. Data was collected using semi-structured questionnaires and the data was analysed using descriptive and multivariate analysis. The prevalence of stunting among male children (35.1%) was significantly higher (p = 0.005) than that of female children (21.7%). Stunting increased significantly (p = 0.0015) with increase in age. Children aged 6-11 months were 2.78 times more likely to be stunted (p = 0.003) than children aged 0-5 months, while those aged 12-24 months were 5.35(odds) times more likely to be stunted (p = 0.001) than children aged 0-5 months. Underweights increased significantly between age groups (p = 0.005). Male children were 1.95 times more likely to be underweight (p = 0.005). Forty-seven (40.2%) out of one hundred and seventeen children that consumed inadequate number (at least 3 meals for 6-11 months old and atleast 4 meals for 12-24 months old children) of meals were stunted while forty-nine (35.3%) out of one hundred and thirty-nine children who fed on adequate number of meals were stunted. The study showed that malnutrition was higher in male children than in female children. Prevalence of malnutrition was high with 29.2% being stunted, 20.8% were underweight, wasting was at 18.9% and the proportion for thinness was determined to be at 17.6%. Although most mothers had achieved some level of education, there was no association between stunting and maternal education. Child malnutrition can be minimized by increasing the number of meals consumed in a day to be able to meet the recommended daily allowances of nutrients and energy as per the guidelines by FAO. Investment in research describing food sources and utilization, their health properties, and nutrient composition is essential. Further, similar studies should be done in other Sub-Counties and nationally to establish causes leading to undernutrition for the vulnerable children under the age of two years as well as interventional studies on effective methods of improving the nutritional quality of complementary foods based on locally available staples for improvement of infant nutrition.
