Effect of Structured Nutrition Education on Maternal and Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF)-Related Knowledge and Child Growth: A Randomized Controlled Trial in Urban Slums of Belagavi, India

Background: Child malnutrition remains a critical public health crisis in India, particularly within urban slum populations where suboptimal infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices are prevalent. Maternal knowledge and behavior serve as the primary determinants of dietary intake and physical growth during the first two years of life. This study evaluated the effectiveness of a structured nutrition education intervention delivered to mothers of children aged six to 24 months attending Anganwadi centers in Belagavi, India. Methods: A randomized controlled trial was conducted involving 62 mother-child pairs recruited from urban slum Anganwadi centers. Participants were randomized into an intervention group of 31 (50%) participants and a control group of 31 (50%) participants. The intervention group received structured nutrition education via PowerPoint (Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corp.) presentations and handouts (pamphlets) covering breastfeeding, complementary feeding, and dietary diversity, while the control group received only standard pamphlets. Maternal knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) and child anthropometric measurements (weight, height, mid-upper arm circumference {MUAC}) were assessed at baseline and at a three-month follow-up. Results: At baseline, both groups were comparable across sociodemographic and nutritional indicators. Post-intervention, the intervention group demonstrated significantly higher knowledge scores (16.29±3.34) compared to the control group (14.16±2.40; p<0.01). Specifically, maternal awareness of early breastfeeding initiation in the intervention group increased from 15 (48.4%) to 28 (90.3%), and knowledge of exclusive breastfeeding rose from five (16.1%) to 24 (77.4%). Practice scores were significantly higher in the intervention group (19.13±1.63) than in the control group (17.68±1.33; p<0.01). Reported practices of early initiation and exclusive breastfeeding in the intervention group improved from 19 (62.5%) to 31 (100%). Although maternal knowledge and practices improved significantly, no significant post-intervention difference in attitude scores was observed between groups. While weight-based indicators showed no significant differences, height-for-age Z-score (HAZ) remained significantly better in the intervention group (p<0.01) compared to the control group. Conclusions: A structured, community-based nutrition education intervention significantly enhances maternal IYCF knowledge and practices. These behavioral improvements were associated with stabilized HAZ scores in the intervention group, suggesting that targeted maternal education is a feasible and effective strategy to address malnutrition and support growth stabilization in underprivileged urban settings.