32^nd European Pediatrics Conference

Biography

Biography: Ramlah Mehmood

Abstract

Nutrition of the child has a pivotal role in growth and development. Globally, 22.2% of the world’s children under five years are affected by stunting and 7.5% are wasted. The first two years of life are critically important. Multiple factors including maternal education, less access to basic health facilities, cultural norms, food myths, traditional practices without scientific basis, feeding diversity, and patterns influence complementary feeding in Pakistan resulting in sub-optimal feeding. The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency & reasons for early & late weaning and their association with wasting, being underweight, and stunting.

Methodology: All children of either gender from 6 months to 24 months who presented in outpatient clinics of Aga Khan University Hospital Karachi were enrolled. IYCF module was used for data recording.

Findings: Weaning was started at 6 months of age in 124 (59.9%) children, 39 (18.9%) children were started on weaning diet at <6 months of age while 44 (21.2%) children were started on weaning diet at >6 months of age.133 (64.3%) children were of normal weight, wasting was present in 1 (0.5%) children and 73 (35.3%) children were underweight.Stunting was seen in 44 (21.3%) children whereas, 163 (78.7%) children were of normal height.Most common reason of early weaning was difficulty in feeding 50 (24.2%) children, whereas most common reason for late weaning was bottle feeding that was seen in 45 (21.7%) children.

Conclusion: Malnutrition in the form of stunting and underweight was present in our children, despite of the fact that majority of mothers started weaning at appropriate age. Provision of maternal education and knowledge about feeding practices along with proper timing of weaning can significantly improve height, weight, and cognition of children.