Prevalence and predictors of undernutrition among infants aged six and twelve months in Butajira, Ethiopia: The P-MaMiE Birth Cohort

Abstract

Background. Child undernutrition is a major public health problem in low income countries. Prospective studies of predictors of infant growth in rural low-income country settings are relatively scarce but vital to guide intervention efforts. Methods. A population-based sample of 1065 women in the third trimester of pregnancy was recruited from the demographic surveillance site (DSS) in Butajira, south-central Ethiopia, and followed up until the infants were one year of age. After standardising infant weight and length using the 2006 WHO child growth standard, a cut-off of two standard deviations below the mean defined the prevalence of stunting (length-for-age