Abstract:
Background: -Adequate nutrition during infancy and early childhood is fundamental to the
development of each child’s full human potential. The period from birth to two years of age is a
critical window for the promotion of optimal growth, health, and behavioral development. During
an illness the need for fluid frequently increases, a child should be offered and encouraged to take
more, and breastfeeding on demand should continue. Infants and young children may not be fed
adequately when they are sick. When a sick baby stops breastfeeding/ feeding, she or he loses
more weight and takes longer to recover.
Objective: - To assess sick child feeding practice and associated factors among mothers of under
two-year sick children in Tembaro Woreda, KT Zone, South Ethiopia, 2020.
Methods: -Facility-based cross-sectional study design was conducted from March 11–April 20,
2020, among 417 mothers of children under 2 years who were attending sick baby clinic Tembaro
woreda public health facilities. Study participants were selected by systematic random sampling.
Data were analyzed using statistical package for social sciences version 25. The adjusted odds
ratio with 95% CI was used to determine the association. A statistical significance was declared at
p-value <0.05.
Result: - A total of 408 (98%) mothers with their index child were interviewed. All respondents
were biological mothers of the child. 71.8% of interviewed mothers were 15-30 years with a mean
age of 26.23((±2.85) and 73% of children were ≥ 6 months old. About 21.3% of the children were
fed more frequently compared to what they fed when they were healthy. Paternal education, age
of the child, having ANC visit, and hearing information about sick child feeding were the
predictors identified at the last stage of analysis.
Conclusion: - A wide range of inappropriate sick child feeding practices exists. Paternal education,
age of the child, having ANC visits, and having information about sick child feeding affects the
feeding practices of mothers. Promoting paternal education and increasing the quality of ANC
service for further improvement of sick child feeding is recommended.
