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. 2023 Jun 21;81(1):114.
doi: 10.1186/s13690-023-01131-1.

Complementary feeding practices and their determinants among children aged 6-23 months in rural Bangladesh: evidence from Bangladesh Integrated Household Survey (BIHS) 2018-2019 evaluated against WHO/UNICEF guideline -2021

Ahmed Jubayer  1   2 , Abira Nowar  3 , Saiful Islam  3 , Md Hafizul Islam  3 , Md Moniruzzaman Nayan  3
Affiliations

Complementary feeding practices and their determinants among children aged 6-23 months in rural Bangladesh: evidence from Bangladesh Integrated Household Survey (BIHS) 2018-2019 evaluated against WHO/UNICEF guideline -2021

Ahmed Jubayer et al. Arch Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: Appropriate Complementary feeding (CF) practices play a crucial role in determining child nutrition, growth, and development. This study seeks to examine CF practices and their predictors among children aged 6 to 23 months in rural Bangladesh according to the most recently updated WHO/UNICEF guidelines for CF.

Methods: A total of 665 children aged 6 to 23 months from the Bangladesh Integrated Household Survey (BIHS) 2018-2019 dataset were analyzed. The WHO/UNICEF guidelines for CF were followed to evaluate each of the nine CF practice indicators. We also examined the effect of the child, maternal, household, and community-level factors on different CF components using multiple logistic regression analyses.

Results: Approximately two-thirds of the children initiated complementary feeding on time (63.5%) but had zero vegetable or fruit consumption (63.2%). More than half (52.4%) and the majority (86.5%) of children had minimum meal frequency and minimum milk feeding frequency, respectively. On the other hand, the proportion of minimum dietary diversity was quite low (18.3%), as reflected in the alarming prevalence (16.3%) of minimum acceptable diet. Egg and/or flesh food, sweet beverage, and unhealthy food consumption were 23.3%, 2.5%, and 12.2%, respectively. Child age, mothers' education level, antenatal care visit, household food security, monthly household income, and place of residence were found to be associated with CF practices.

Conclusion: When compared to results obtained using the previous guideline, the new one has resulted in a lower prevalence of Introduction of solid, semi-solid, or soft foods (ISSF), Minimum dietary diversity (MDD), Minimum meal frequency (MMF), and Minimum acceptable diet (MAD). It is crucial to convey the new knowledge for better child feeding and nutrition as the country prepares to apply the new guideline.

Keywords: Bangladesh; CF predictors; Child feeding; Complementary feeding; Minimum dietary diversity.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Status of complementary feeding indicators in rural Bangladesh
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Percent distribution of children 6–23 months of age according to consumption of the eight food groups
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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