Infant And Child Feeding Practices: Analyses Of Exclusive Breastfeeding And Complementary Feeding In Namibia

ABSTRACT

Malnutrition remains a factor, directly or indirectly, in 60% of 11 million deaths of children aged less than five years globally each year. Hence, proper nutrition during infancy and early childhood is fundamental to the development of a child’s potential for normal growth, development, and survival of infants and children, particularly in developing. This study intent was to examine feeding patterns, practices and factors associated with exclusive breastfeeding and complementary feeding among infant (0-6 months) and young children (0-24 months) feeding practices in Namibia. A quantitative cross-sectional research design was used based on 2013 Namibia Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS). To determine factors associated with exclusive breastfeeding, a chi-square test was used at a significance level of 0.05. Odds ratios with their 95% CI were computed and variables having 𝑝 value less than 0.05 in the multivariable logistic regression with the stepwise backward elimination procedure were considered as significantly associated with the dependent variable. The duration of breastfeeding and the time to introduction of complementary foods were presented using Kaplan-Meier survival curves. SPSS was used for all the analysis. The study found that the proportion of children aged 0-6 months who were being breastfed at the time of survey was 35.1% and only 19% of the children in the same age range were exclusively breastfed. The median duration of exclusive breastfeeding was three months and exclusive breastfeeding decreases with xii increasing age of a child. The results showed that exclusive breastfeeding practice among children aged 0-6 months, decreases with age of the child (OR=0.76, 95%CI: 0.71-0.81), the older once have a 24% less likelihood of been exclusively breastfed compared to the once who are younger. The mothers with a secondary or higher educational level are 15% (OR=0.85, 95%CI: 0.71-1.01) less likelihood of exclusive breastfeeding practice respectively, when compared to those with a mothers with a primary or lower educational level. The mothers that were employed had an odds 54% (OR=0.55, 95%CI: 0.46-0.66) less likelihood of exclusive breastfeeding practice when compared to those that that were unemployed. The analysis of duration of breastfeeding among young children (0-24 months) showed that the probability of breastfeeding decreases as children were given solid foods, indicating that mothers were more likely to stop breastfeeding as the months of breastfeeding increases. The majority of the children in the study were introduced to solid foods before the recommended age of six month. Furthermore, there is urgent need for the MoHSS and other agencies working on improving child health through feeding practices to develop satisfactory, cheap and culturally acceptable complementary recipes that can be prepared from locally available foods.