Mothers' knowledge and practices on breastfeeding and complementary feeding in an urban slum area and rural area in Kenya: A cross-sectional interview study.
Kerttu Uusimäki, Lauriina Schneider, Crippina Lubeka and 2 others
PMID 35428403WHAT IT FOUND
Mothers in Nairobi and Machakos breastfed well, but young children ate from too few food groups.
Many knew breastfeeding basics, yet few thought small children should eat meat, fish or eggs daily, and many did not value daily vegetables.
Key findings
01Breastfeeding practices were high: 87% of children under 6 months in Nairobi and 86% in Machakos were exclusively breastfed.
02Only 29% in Nairobi and 20% in Machakos met minimum dietary diversity, while 78% in Nairobi and 79% in Machakos met minimum meal frequency.
03More than 75% knew that a newborn should be put to the breast immediately, but only 32% in Nairobi and 42% in Machakos did it.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Participants were recruited by convenience sampling from mothers attending selected health centers, so they may not represent mothers in other settings. Breastfeeding and feeding practices were self-reported, and the authors say high exclusive breastfeeding may be affected by social desirability and good knowledge. The study was cross-sectional, so it cannot show that knowledge caused feeding practices or that education would change them. The Nairobi slum area selected excluded the poorest areas, which the authors say affected the results. Only children younger than 18 months were included, so it says nothing about older toddlers.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that better knowledge will improve complementary feeding: the study found a significant knowledge association only for dietary diversity in Nairobi, and it did not test whether education changed practice.