Suchergebnisse

BACKGROUND: Although infant and young child feeding practices play an important role, children in Ethiopia suffer from poor infant and young child feeding. To date, there is a limited study which addresses factors that influence infant and young child feeding practices. The aim of the study was to determine the predictors of infant and young child feeding practices in Gibe District, Hadiya Zone, Ethiopia. METHODS: A community-based cross-sectional study was employed on 418 randomly selected mothers with children under the age of 24 months from March 13 to April 13, 2017. The pre-tested structured questionnaire was used to collect the data. Multiple logistic regressions were applied to determine the predictors of infant and young child feeding practices. RESULTS: A total of 284 (67.9%) infant and young child suffered from the sub-optimal infant and young child feeding practices. The husband being a government employee [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 4.08 (1.65, 10.04)], lower household income [(AOR) = 3.11 (1.36, 7.07)], not attending antenatal care (AOR = 2.03 (1.22, 3.36)], child age 0–5 months [AOR = 2.42 (1.02, 5.72)], negative attitude towards infant and young child feeding practices [AOR = 2.35 (1.44, 3.84)], and the number of children 3–4 [AOR = 1.99 (1.08, 3.64)] were predictors of the sub-optimal infant and young child feeding practices. CONCLUSION: Sub-optimal infant and young child feeding practices were very high as compared to the WHO infant and child feeding recommendation. The husband being a government employee, lower household income, not attending antenatal care, child age 0–5 months, negative attitude towards infant and young child feeding practices, and the number of children 3–4 were the predictors of the sub-optimal infant and young child feeding practices. Nutritional interventions should emphasize the predictors of sub-optimal infant and young child feeding practices to improve optimal infant and young child feeding practices in Ethiopia.

Background: Over the last ten years Ethiopia has substantially increased uptake of family planning methods. As a result, most regions of the country experienced a decrease in fertility. The aims of this study are to: (1) Describe the current family planning beliefs in one rural district in Ethiopia; (2) Identify which beliefs promote or hinder the uptake of family planning; (3) Acquire insights into how these beliefs may be changing through time; and, (4) Specify the social influences involved in the diffusion of information and ideas related to fertility and family planning. Methods: In July 2016, in collaboration with our Ethiopian research partners, we conducted five focus groups and twelve individual interviews (n = 59) with adolescents, men, women and key informants in Oromia, Ethiopia. We used a random sampling protocol to recruit participants. Focus group and interview questions covered childbearing, gender roles, decision-making, and modern contraceptive use. We analyzed data using thematic analysis and Nvivo v.11 qualitative software. Results: All participants knew of and accepted modern contraception to space childbirth. Adults considered it a positive change within their community and adolescents considered it a common part of the community for married women. We also found that there are two decision-making networks in regards to family planning: (1) one that pertains to basic decisions about having children, which remains patriarchal; and (2) a second network that pertains to family size and spacing decisions which includes the Government Health Extension Workers who are perceived as trusted community members who helped bring family planning methods and health education to the community. Adolescents described use of contraception among married women as commonplace but did not discuss it for themselves. Some key informants reported a need for improved adolescent sexual health services. Conclusion: While marriage and initial childbearing remain patriarchal, Government Health Workers have helped to ...