Maternal and Child Nutrition Practices and Vitamin A Supplementation

Objectives: To determine Vitamin A supplement intake among children of mothers with delivery in the last two years To assess mother's knowledge of infant and young child nutrition. Methods: Facility- and community-based cross-sectional study of women (n = 1043) in both urban and rural areas attending selected primary health care centers as well as mothers who have accessed Ante Natal Care (ANC) in selected communities. Vitamin A supplementation and the knowledge of maternal, infant and young child nutrition were assessed by an interviewer administered questionnaire. The relationship between Vitamin A intake and Maternal Infant and Young Child Nutrition (MIYCN) knowledge was assessed using logistic regression; and the p-value was considered at ≤ 0.05 with 95% CI. Results: A total of 1043 respondents were assessed, 94.1% of whom had Vitamin A supplementation. Logistic regression assessing factors including parents age, marital status, education, employment status, number of pregnancies, number of children, location of residence, if child has been fully vaccinated, given deworming drugs, and mothers' knowledge of MIYCN was assessed. Living in urban location AOR = 0.283 95% CI (0.131 - 0.616), having an employed mother AOR = 0.419 95% CI (0.176 - 0.994), child intake of deworming drugs AOR = 16.231 95% CI (7.567 - 34.815), full vaccination AOR = 10.167 95% CI (5.004 - 20.658), mother's good knowledge of MIYCN AOR = 2.863 95% CI (1.268 - 6.466) were significantly associated to Vitamin A supplementation. Conclusions: We observed appropriate Vitamin A supplementation in our children population. However, living in urban locations, maternal employment, child being dewormed, been fully vaccinated and mother's good knowledge of maternal and child nutrition knowledge had strong associations with Vitamin A supplementation. This study highlights the urgency to further improve healthcare access and nutrition for those living in rural areas, empower women through public service employment or self-employment, and improve health and nutrition information dissemination, and service provision. Funding Sources: World Bank Funded ANRiN Project.