Original Research Article
Year: 2021 | Month: February | Volume: 8 | Issue: 2 | Pages: 197-203
DOI: https://doi.org/10.52403/ijrr.20210229
Feeding Practice and Nutritional Status of Under Five Children: A Cross Sectional Descriptive Study in a Slum Community of West Bengal
Abantika Bagchi1, Jadab Chandra Sardar2, Prasanta Roy Karmakar3
1Medical Officer, West Bengal Health Service.
2Associate Professor & HOD, Department of Community Medicine, R. G. Kar Medical College, Kolkata.
3Associate Professor & HOD, Department of Community Medicine, Raiganj Government Medical College, Raiganj, Uttar Dinajpur, West Bengal
Corresponding Author: Jadab Chandra Sardar
ABSTRACT
Background: Adequate nutrition during infancy and early childhood is the key for the development of each child to reach his/her full human potential. 1 Poor nutrition during the first 1000 days of a child’s life leads to stunted growth which is irreversible. It is also seen to be associated with impaired cognitive ability and reduced school performances. 2
Objective: To assess socio demographic profile, feeding practices of mothers/ caregivers, nutritional status of under five children and to find out any association between feeding practice and nutritional status.
Methodology: Community based observational descriptive study with cross sectional design was done at Baghbazar slum area in Kolkata among 76 under five children by house to house visit with a predesigned, pretested semi-structured proforma. Anthropometric measurements of them were also done. Data were analysed with SPSS version 16 software.
Results: 97.4% of the children were hospital born, 96.1% had birth weight ≥ 2.5 kg. Only 21.1% received breastfeeding within first hour after birth, 71.2% were exclusively breastfed. 23.7% received pre lacteal feeding and 93.4% received colostrum. Timely initiation of complementary feeding was found in 87.9%, 56.06% consumed fast food on regular basis and 59.1% received supplementary nutrition from ICDS center. Feeding during illness was decreased in 81.6%. 18.2% had stunting and it was significantly more in children of lower socio-economic classes (p value 0.010). 15.8% were underweight and it was significantly more in low birth weight children (p value 0.024), whose mothers were less educated (p value 0.017), who did not receive exclusive breast feeding (p value 0.008) and supplementary nutrition from ICDS (p value 0.002). 5.2% were overweight and 2.6% were moderately wasted.
Conclusion: Reinforcing nutritional education including IYCF practices are to be stressed.
Keywords: Feeding practice, Stunting, Under nutrition, Under five.
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