Comparison of mothers' understanding of two child growth charts in Lesotho

Reported are the results of a study that compared mothers' understanding of two growth monitoring charts in Lesotho, which was carried out to assist the government in selecting a national growth chart. The study was conducted over 4 months in nine primary health care (PHC) clinics, where 1221 mothers were enrolled. Mothers were assigned to one of the following chart groups: "road-to-health" (RTH), "growth surveillance" (GS), or no chart (controls). Mothers in the first two groups received instruction on their respective chart during monthly growth monitoring sessions and were tested on their knowledge of this chart before and after the follow-up period. The mothers in the control group were tested on the RTH and GS charts at the beginning and at the end of the study. The results indicated that mothers who received training on either chart markedly improved their understanding compared with the control group and that the RTH group understood their chart better than the GS group did theirs.