Effect of timed and targeted counseling (ttC) by peer mothers in changing infant and young child feeding practices among mothers of children 0 to 18 months in four districts in Southern Ethiopia

Objective To evaluate changes in infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices resulting from peer mother's visits delivering age‐appropriate messages on breast feeding and complementary feeding to mothers of children 0 to 18 months after two years of project implementation. Methods The evaluation used a quasi‐experimental study design in four implementation and four control districts. The sample size included 1600 children with 800 mothers interviewed from each of the intervention and control districts i.e. 400 for 0 to 5.9 months and 400 for 6 to 23.9 months group. Results Initiation of breast feeding within one hour of birth increased from 65.5% to 75.2% ( p<0.05) ; colostrum feeding increased from 71.2% to 83.0% ( p<0.0001) ; exclusive breast feeding increased from 57.9% to 82.8% ( p<0.05 ) in the intervention areas after adjusting for women's education, age, religion, number of children ever born, and economic status. Minimum dietary diversity increased from 7.2% to 10.0% ( p<0.0001 ); minimum acceptable diet increased from 5.0% to 7.5% ( p<0.0001 ) ; and stunting has decreased from 32.3% to 29.0%. Conclusion Age – appropriate counseling coupled with demonstration on complementary food preparation is an effective way of improving IYCF practices in rural Ethiopia. Dietary diversity remains a challenge and the changes are gradual. Source of research support: FHI360 through the Alive & Thrive Project.