Complementary feeding pattern and its impact on growth and development of under 2-years infants in upper Egypt

Abstract

Exclusive BF till the age of 6 months is rare in developing countries and complimentary feeding (CF) are introduced at an early age which is linked to the development of chronic conditions such as childhood obesity, celiac disease, diabetes, and eczema. The aim of our work is to assess complementary feeding practices of infants under the age of 2 years and to study their impact on their growth and development. This study is a cross-sectional study that was carried out over 3 years between March 2016 and March 2019, included 1000 apparently healthy infants aged less than 2 years old who attended University Children Hospital, Egypt. Practices among mothers including timing and types of foods introduced. Semi-structured questionnaire used for data collection and anthropometric measurements analyzed following the WHO Growth Charts. The study found that about 80% of infants were introduced to solid foods before 4 months of age. Also, a large number of infants were given liquids other than breast milk before completing their fourth month of age. Despite the better mental development of the infants, there is a considerable gap between WHO Guiding Principles for Complementary Feeding and the practices among mothers of infants aged less than 2 years in Egypt.