Assessment of nutrition education: urban mother understanding of weight for age graphs.

One third (34.5%) of 319 mothers attending four urban Maternal and Child Health clinics in Lae, Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea succeeded in correctly identifying all four test weight for age graphs. Mothers were more accurate in identifying weight graphs if they were educated, if their child was older than 12 months, and if their last visit to an MCH clinic had been during a scheduled clinic week. In regard to weight for age status of 321 children sampled at the four clinics 18.6% were less than 80% of the Harvard standard weight for their age, with 3.8% less than 70% of the standard. Mothers' ability to identify weight graphs was not directly related to their children's nutritional status. Children had better weight for age if their fathers had employment, and if their family lived in professionally built housing. Weight for age tended to decline after 12 months of age. Analysis of the results suggested that mothers with children older than 12 months who understood weight graphs were more likely to have well nourished children than those who did not.