Abstract:
The number of children who die before the age of five is excessively high and they are
associated with high prevalence of malnutrition. Poor breast-feeding and complementary
feeding practices among other factors exacerbate the problem of malnutrition. The main
objective of this study was to determine nutritional status and association of breastfeeding
and complementary feeding practices of children aged 1 to 24 months in Kwale County.
This was a cross-sectional study nested within an on-going Health and Demographic
Surveillance System (HDSS) in Kwale County. A sample of 380 mother child pair were
obtained by simple random sampling. Data was collected using semi-structured
questionnaires and the data was analysed using descriptive and multivariate analysis. The
prevalence of stunting among male children (35.1%) was significantly higher (p = 0.005)
than that of female children (21.7%). Stunting increased significantly (p = 0.0015) with
increase in age. Children aged 6-11 months were 2.78 times more likely to be stunted (p
= 0.003) than children aged 0-5 months, while those aged 12-24 months were 5.35(odds)
times more likely to be stunted (p = 0.001) than children aged 0-5 months. Underweights
increased significantly between age groups (p = 0.005). Male children were 1.95 times
more likely to be underweight (p = 0.005). Forty-seven (40.2%) out of one hundred and
seventeen children that consumed inadequate number (at least 3 meals for 6-11 months
old and atleast 4 meals for 12-24 months old children) of meals were stunted while fortynine (35.3%) out of one hundred and thirty-nine children who fed on adequate number of
meals were stunted. The study showed that malnutrition was higher in male children than
in female children. Prevalence of malnutrition was high with 29.2% being stunted, 20.8%
were underweight, wasting was at 18.9% and the proportion for thinness was determined
to be at 17.6%. Although most mothers had achieved some level of education, there was
no association between stunting and maternal education. Child malnutrition can be
minimized by increasing the number of meals consumed in a day to be able to meet the
recommended daily allowances of nutrients and energy as per the guidelines by FAO.
Investment in research describing food sources and utilization, their health properties, and
nutrient composition is essential. Further, similar studies should be done in other SubCounties and nationally to establish causes leading to undernutrition for the vulnerable
children under the age of two years as well as interventional studies on effective methods
of improving the nutritional quality of complementary foods based on locally available
staples for improvement of infant nutrition.