Abate Meseret Girma, Wondimagegne Zelalem Tafese, Belachew Tefera
College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Arba Minch University, Arba Minch, Ethiopia.
School of Nutrition, Food Science and Technology, Hawassa University, Awasa, Ethiopia.
Front Nutr. 2025 Jul 8;12:1568887. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2025.1568887. eCollection 2025.
Despite the critical importance of complementary feeding, a significant number of young children in developing countries have suboptimal complementary feeding practices (OCFPs). After 6 months, a nutrient-dense, varied diet containing fruits and vegetables is crucial to complement breastfeeding. These appropriate complementary feeding practices have the potential to prevent all deaths among children. There were evidence gaps on OCFPs among children in the study area. Therefore, this study was conducted to fill this gap in order to design context-specific intervention.
A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Konso Zone, in South Ethiopia, among 337 randomly selected mothers having children 6-23 months of age. Data were collected using a pretested interviewer-administered questionnaire using the Kobo Toolbox and exported to SPSS Version 25 for cleaning and analysis. A multivariable binary logistic regression model was used to determine independent predictors of OCFP of mothers. Variables with a -value < 0.05 at a 95% confidence interval (CI) were considered statistically significant in the final model.
The overall prevalence of OCFP was 14.8% (95% CI: 11.80%, 19.10%). The practices of timely initiation of complementary feeding, minimum meal frequency, and minimum dietary diversity (MDD) were 63.20%, 92.60%, and 20.50%, respectively. Mothers who were in advanced age (>35 years) (AOR = 3.32, 95% CL: 1.59, 6.95), exchanged food items from the market (AOR = 2.23, 95% CL: 1.03, 4.77), and had accessibility and availability of fruit and vegetables (AOR = 4.16, 95% CL: 1.83, 9.43) were independent predictors of OCFP.
The findings indicate that a significantly low proportion of children met the minimum World Health Organization (WHO) complementary feeding recommendations. However, meal frequency showed relatively better adherence. Only one-fifth of young children achieved MDD, while more than two-thirds began complementary feeding earlier than the recommended 6-month threshold. To improve complementary feeding practices, cost-effective interventions such as increasing access to fruits and vegetables and encouraging mothers to trade homegrown food items in local markets to diversify their children's diets could be beneficial. Additionally, targeted efforts should focus on enhancing key complementary feeding indicators of meal frequency, timely introduction of complementary foods, and achieving MDD to improve children's nutritional needs.
尽管辅食添加至关重要，但发展中国家仍有相当数量的幼儿存在辅食喂养方式不理想的情况。6个月后，富含营养且多样的包含水果和蔬菜的饮食对于补充母乳喂养至关重要。这些恰当的辅食喂养方式有潜力预防所有儿童死亡。在研究区域的儿童中，关于不理想的辅食喂养方式存在证据空白。因此，开展本研究以填补这一空白，从而设计因地制宜的干预措施。
在埃塞俄比亚南部的孔索地区开展了一项基于社区的横断面研究，研究对象为337名随机选取的有6至23个月大孩子的母亲。使用预先测试过的由访谈员实施的问卷通过Kobo Toolbox收集数据，并导出至SPSS 25版本进行清理和分析。采用多变量二元逻辑回归模型来确定母亲不理想的辅食喂养方式的独立预测因素。在95%置信区间（CI）内P值<0.05的变量在最终模型中被认为具有统计学意义。
不理想的辅食喂养方式的总体患病率为14.8%（95% CI：11.80%，19.10%）。适时开始添加辅食、最低进餐频率和最低饮食多样性（MDD）的比例分别为63.20%、92.60%和20.50%。年龄较大（>35岁）的母亲（调整后比值比[AOR]=3.32，95%置信区间[CL]：1.59，6.95）、从市场交换食物的母亲（AOR=2.23，95% CL：1.03，4.77）以及能够获取和获得水果及蔬菜的母亲（AOR=4.16，95% CL：1.83，9.43）是不理想的辅食喂养方式的独立预测因素。
研究结果表明，达到世界卫生组织（WHO）最低辅食喂养建议的儿童比例极低。然而，进餐频率的依从性相对较好。只有五分之一的幼儿实现了最低饮食多样性，而超过三分之二的幼儿比建议的6个月门槛更早开始添加辅食。为改善辅食喂养方式，增加水果和蔬菜的获取机会以及鼓励母亲在当地市场交换自家种植的食物以使其孩子的饮食多样化等具有成本效益的干预措施可能会有益处。此外，有针对性的努力应集中在提高进餐频率、适时引入辅食以及实现最低饮食多样性等关键辅食喂养指标上，以满足儿童的营养需求。
