Association among Maternal Knowledge, Complementary Feeding Practices, and Dietary Fat Content of Complementary Foods in Children with Down Syndrome 6–23 Months

Malnutrition is a prevalent issue among children aged 6-23 mo, particularly those with Down syndrome (DS), who face additional oral-motor and feeding challenges. Appropriate complementary feeding (CF) practices are crucial in achieving adequate nutrition for these children. This study aimed to determine whether maternal knowledge on infant and young child feeding (IYCF) recommendations were associated with the CF practices of mothers and the dietary fat – specifically polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) – content of complementary foods given to children. Ten (10) mothers of children with DS aged 6–23 mo from low-income families participated. IYCF knowledge was assessed through a self-administered questionnaire, whereas maternal CF practices characterized by indicators minimum dietary diversity (MDD) and minimum meal frequency (MMF) were determined through an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Lastly, dietary fat was measured through a 2-d multiple pass 24-h food recall. Participants were found to have average to high knowledge of IYCF recommendations. The achievement of MDD and MMF among the children was low at 40% for both. Maternal IYCF knowledge is directly associated with MDD (Tb = 0.3563), inversely associated with MMF (Tb = –0.5345), and weakly associated with PUFA content (Tb = 0.0976). On the other hand, the overall dietary fat content of the diet of the children was strongly associated with their intake of total PUFA (p = 0.7697; α = 0.0092), omega-3 (p = 0.6832; α = 0.0294), and omega-6 fatty acids (p = 0.7091; α = 0.0217). This implies that as children consumed dietary fat as a common component of CF, they were also able to consume PUFA, which is essential for the brain function and development of children with DS. Further studies are recommended to increase sample size and explore other nutritional aspects of feeding infants and young children with DS.