Infant and Young Child Feeding Decision Making and Practices: Malawian Mothers' and Fathers' Roles in the Context of HIV.
Nainisha Chintalapudi, Gloria Hamela, Innocent Mofolo and 4 others
PMID 28841399WHAT IT FOUND
Mothers and fathers in HIV-affected Malawian families mostly saw infant feeding decisions as mothers' work.
Fathers mainly gave money and reminders, but food insecurity limited this. Nurses could involve fathers in clinic advice and check household food access.
Key findings
01Most mothers and fathers described mothers as the primary decision-makers for infant and young child feeding.
02Fathers reported buying food for the child and sometimes for the mother, and giving verbal reminders about feeding.
03Eleven of 15 fathers reported food insecurity or difficulty providing monetary support, and one-third of mothers wanted fathers present at clinic.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The sub-study included only 30 interviews, and recruitment depended on mothers allowing contact with partners and on researchers being able to reach them. Nearly all participants had disclosed HIV status to their partner and had a reasonably good relationship, so findings may not apply to mothers who had not disclosed or who were in difficult relationships. The study reports perceptions and feeding roles, not measured feeding outcomes or the effect of involving fathers. Data came from selected urban and rural clinics in Lilongwe District, Malawi, so transferability to other settings is uncertain.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. No funding source is given in the supplied text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read these interviews as evidence that involving fathers improves infant feeding or HIV outcomes. The study reports perceptions and barriers, not a tested intervention.