Complementary Feeding at Tikur Anbessa Hospital. A Study on Mothers’ Knowledge and Practice

Abstract

A descriptive cross-sectional study on mothers’ knowledge and practice related to
complementary feeding was conducted in Tikur Anbessa Hospital, Addis Ababa, from
September 1st to November 30th, 2003. A total of 370 mother-child pairs whose children were aged 0-24 months, were included in the study. 53.34% of children were started on complementary feeding before the age of four months. The most commonly used complementary food was milk formula, followed by cow's milk and cereal based gruel in 52.5%, 35.7% and 7.1% of the cases respectively. As believed by the mothers, inadequate supply of breast milk and mother’s sickness and /or sickness of the child were the reasons to start complementary feeding. The majority of mothers used a bottle for feeding their children. The study demonstrated inappropriate infant feeding practices, which needs intervention.