Complementary feeding practices among children in Benishangul Gumuz Region, Ethiopia

Appropriate complementary feeding helps to reduces child's risk of undernutrition, infectious disease and related mortality. However, complementary feeding practices are sub-optimal in Ethiopia. There is, however, also limited evidence in the country, particularly of Pawie District. Therefore, this study aimed to assess timely initiation of complementary feeding and associated factors among mothers who had children aged 6-23 months in Pawie District, Benishangul Gumuz Regional State.

A community based cross-sectional study was conducted in Pawie District from February 01 to March 29, 2015. A multi-stage sampling technique was employed to select 806 mother-child pairs. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to investigate factors associated with timely initiation of complementary feeding. Adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with corresponding 95% Confidence Interval was calculated to show the strength of association. A p value of <0.05 was used to declare significance of association.

The overall prevalence of timely initiation of complementary feeding was 61.8%. One quarter (23.7%) of children had good dietary diversity and 32.7% of children aged 12-23 months were fed with appropriate meal frequency. Mother's place of residence: urban settlement [AOR = 2.11, 95% CI 1.47, 3.02] and postnatal checkup [AOR = 1.68, 95% CI 1.15, 2.45] were significantly associated with timely initiation of complementary feeding.

The prevalence of timely initiation of complementary feeding was low in Pawie District. Therefore, further strengthening maternal postnatal care utilization is a key to improve timely initiation of complementary feeding. Moreover, attention needs to be given to the rural mothers.