Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Apr 15;12(1):6252.
doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-10308-7.

Complementary feeding pattern and its determinants among mothers in selected primary health centers in the urban metropolis of Ekiti State, Nigeria

Deborah Tolulope Esan  1 , Oluwaseun Eniola Adegbilero-Iwari  2 , Aishat Hussaini  3 , Aderonke Julienne Adetunji  4
Affiliations

Complementary feeding pattern and its determinants among mothers in selected primary health centers in the urban metropolis of Ekiti State, Nigeria

Deborah Tolulope Esan et al. Sci Rep. .

Abstract

The incidence of malnutrition in the first two years of life has been directly linked with inappropriate complementary feeding practices along with high infectious disease levels. This study was therefore aimed to assess the complementary feeding pattern among mothers of children aged zero to two years in selected health centres in Ado Ekiti, the capital of Ekiti State, Nigeria. The study was cross-sectional in design. One hundred and thirty-five mothers were selected from two health centres within Ado-Ekiti for this study. A semi-structured interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect information from the mothers. The questionnaire included questions that assessed the mothers' socio-demographic characteristics and complementary feeding pattern. Most (62.5%) infants were introduced to complementary foods at 3-5 months old and water (43.3%) at 3 months of age. The main food item given to the infants on commencement of complementary feeding was formula food (45.9%) followed by fermented cereal gruel (37%). The timing of introduction for different food items revealed that in contrast to the use of fermented cereal gruel (23.8%), fewer children were introduced to iron-rich foods (15.1%) and fruits (11%) at 6 months to a year old. Mother's knowledge of ideal age for the introduction of complementary feeding ([Formula: see text] 20.547; p < 0.001) associated significantly with the age of introduction of complementary feeding. More than three-fifth (62.5%) of the respondents had commenced complementary feeding to their infants between 3 and 5 months while an excess of two-fifth (43.3%) of the respondents started giving their children water to drink at 3 months of age. Nurses and nutritionists in primary health care centers should take the lead role in educating mothers about the need for exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months of life and appropriate complementary feeding for ages 6-24 months.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Reason for introduction of complementary food at a particular age.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Aliyu I, Duru C, Lawal TOM, A. Breastfeeding and weaning practices among Nigerian women. J. Med. Invest. Pract. 2014;9(4):140. doi: 10.4103/9783-1230.157054. - DOI
    1. Udoh EE, Amodu OK. Complementary feeding practices among mothers and nutritional status of infants in Akpabuyo Area, Cross River State Nigeria. Springerplus. 2016;5(1):2073. doi: 10.1186/s40064-016-3751-7. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Akeredolu IA, Osisanya JO, Seriki-Mosadolorun JS, Okorafor U. Mothers’ nutritional knowledge, infant feeding practices and nutritional status of children (0–24 months) in Lagos State, Nigeria. Eur. J. Nutrit. Food Saf. 2014;4(4):364–374. doi: 10.9734/EJNFS/2014/7604. - DOI
    1. Akpor O, Oluwadare T, Taiwo O, Aladenika B, Akpor O. Feeding and weaning practices among mothers of under-five children in selected primary health care centres in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti, Nigeria. Potravinars. Slovak J. Food Sci. 2020;14:42–51. doi: 10.5219/1211. - DOI
    1. World Health Organization. Infant and young child feeding. 2020. Accessed August 3, 2020 at https://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/infant-and-young-chi...