Determinants of weaning and its impact on child growth

Objectives: Infancy, a period of rapid physical growth and development, demands good and healthy nutrition apart from breastfeeding. Weaning/complementary feeding is introduced to cater to such high demand at 6 months of age. Several factors play a role in weaning and related practices. This study is directed at analyzing the various factors and their effect on growth and development of the child. Material and Methods: A cross-sectional study involving 500 mother–child pairs after obtaining informed consent was initiated. All the mothers consulting the outpatient department were included. Top-fed children were excluded. Mothers were interviewed with a preformed questionnaire about demographic profile, knowledge, practices, source of information on weaning, and factors influencing age of initiation of weaning such as parity, education, occupation, socioeconomic status, sex of the child, religion, and residence. The information collected was analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences 20. Results interpreted as mean and standard deviation, percentages, and correlation coefficients. P < 0.05 is considered statistically significant. Results: A significant association was found between the age at introduction to weaning and the age of the mother ( P = 0.004), weight for age ( P = 0.042), and length for age ( P = 0.01). A significant negative correlation between the age of initiation of weaning and the weight of the child was established (r = −0.11; P = 0.01). Only 90 mothers started weaning at an appropriate age irrespective of various factors. Conclusion: The majority of mothers initiated weaning after 6 months of age. A gap between the knowledge and practices regarding weaning and associated factors exists. Stringent implementation of government-based policies in rural and interior areas, one-on-one assessment at every contact with a healthcare facility, and counseling to the mothers might help develop better weaning practices.