Status of Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) in the Secondary and Tertiary Level Hospitals in Bangladesh

Background: Child malnutrition is one of the most serious public health challenges. Infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices are crucial for early childhood growth and development. Objective: The current study was conducted to see the practice status of the elements of IYCF in the secondary and tertiary level hospitals in Bangladesh. Methods: A descriptive type of cross-sectional study was conducted among 416 service receivers and 142 healthcare service providers in 32 randomly selected secondary and tertiary level hospitals in Bangladesh from 1st February to 31st May 2023 to assess the status of the four elements of IYCF in the secondary and tertiary level hospitals in Bangladesh. A purposive sampling technique was adopted and a pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect data. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews. Result: The mean age of the service receivers was 26.29±5.12 years and the majority of the respondents (98.1%) were female. Regarding the practices of IYCF, 86.3% of respondents initiated early breastfeeding, 72.1% exclusively breastfed their baby, 92.3% continued breastfeeding up to 24 months and 91.8% of respondents started complementary feeding after 6 months. About 86.3% of caregivers gave homemade complementary food to their babies. Around two-thirds of service providers were female and 36.6% of them had post-graduation degrees. The majority (85.2%) of the service providers didn’t get any IYCF-related training but 81.7% of them had work experience in the IYCF program. The majority of the respondents mentioned that they practiced IYCF activities like providing support for position and attachment (98.6%), counseling the mother (99.3%), and explaining to the caregiver how to feed a sick child (94.4%). Among service providers, 91.6% had good IYCF practice and 7.7% had average IYCF practice IYCF activities. Conclusion: Majority of the service receivers initiated early breastfeeding, continued breastfeeding up to 24 months, started complementary feeding after 6 months and more than two-thirds exclusively breastfed their babies. The majority of the service providers had good IYCF practice level but most of them didn’t get any IYCF related training. Bangladesh Med Res Counc Bull 2024; 50: 48-53