Household dynamics of maternal caregiving and agricultural labour in complementary feeding practices in rural farming communities in Geita Region, Tanzania: a qualitative study

OBJECTIVE: Inappropriate complementary feeding contributes to child undernutrition, even in food-secure areas. This paradox highlights the need to look beyond food availability and examine the household-level mechanisms that shape everyday feeding decisions in the farming and food-secure settings. The objective of this study was to explore the household dynamics of maternal caregiving and agricultural labour in complementary feeding practices in rural farming communities in Geita. DESIGN: Phenomenology study design was employed to explore the lived experiences and perceptions of mothers regarding complementary feeding practices. SETTING: Rural farming communities in Geita Region, Tanzania. PARTICIPANTS: Mothers of children aged 6-23 months were purposively selected to participate in seven in-depth interviews and two focus group discussions. RESULTS: In these farming communities, four household-level factors were found to influence complementary feeding practices: maternal responsibility and farming obligations, carrying children and porridge to the farms, limited paternal involvement, fatigue due to prolonged farm work, reliance on elder siblings for childcare and fear of judgement or sanctions for late arrival at the farm. Farming emerged as a cross-cutting theme that intersected all these sub-themes. CONCLUSION: Mothers described complementary feeding practices as closely linked to household division of labour, caregiving arrangements and the demands of farming activities that shaped daily routines. These findings suggest the need for context-sensitive strategies that consider intra-household roles and the time constraints associated with subsistence farming.