Introduction: Complementary foods fill the gap between the total nutritional needs of the child and the amounts provided by breast milk. Inappropriate feeding practices are a major cause of the onset of malnutrition in young children. The objective of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practices of mothers of children between 6 to 24 months of age regarding complementary feeding. Methods: This Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice Study was conducted among 250 mothers in Kathmandu Medical College and Teaching Hospital from June 2019 to November 2019 after obtaining ethical approval from the institutional review committee (Ref no. 150320199). Convenient sampling method was applied. The mothers of children between 6 to 24 months were interviewed using a structured questionnaire to ascertain the knowledge, attitude, and practices regarding complementary feeding. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS version 20. Results: Two hundred and fifty mothers were interviewed. 151 (60.4%) mothers knew initiation of breastfeeding soon after birth and 179 (71.6%) were knowledgeable about exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months. 161 (64.4%) mothers knew the proper age of initiating complementary feeding but only 139 (55.6%) mothers practiced it. Early initiation of complementary feeding was done by 87 (34.8%) mothers while 24 (9.6%) mothers delayed it beyond 6 months. Conclusions: There was a gap in knowledge and practice among mothers regarding adequate age of initiation of complementary feeding, complementary foods, preparation, and practices.

Introduction:In spite of significant evidence on a number of important health benefits of breastfeeding, it has been seen that a vast number of infants in Nepal are not being breastfed appropriately based on standard recommendations. This study was conducted to evaluate the breastfeeding practices prevalent in Kathmandu. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional survey carried out over a period of 24 months from January 2011 to December 2012 on a convenient sample of children aged 6 months to 23 months when they were brought for treatment to Kathmandu Medical College and Teaching Hospital. Breastfeeding was defined according to the recent WHO guidelines and mothers were interviewed as per a structured questionnaire. Results: There were 1250 children enrolled in the study, out of which almost all infants (99.7%, n=1246) received colostrum. Only 62.64% (n=783) babies received breast milk as their first food. Initiation of breastfeeding within one hour of delivery was done by 719 (57.5%) mothers. The median duration of exclusive breastfeeding was 3.8 months. Conclusion: This study reflects that majority of infants in Kathmandu are still not fed in accordance with breastfeeding recommendations and guidelines. More attention should be given to a proper community-based program including subsequent monitoring of its implementation as exclusive breastfeeding has been proved to be one of the most effective ways to improve infant survival.

Introduction:Anemia is one of the most common

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Introduction: Research demonstrates the importance of key interventions in reducing mortality rates of pediatric patients with sepsis. Of health care practitioners, nurses typically spend the most time with patients, and they must be knowledgeable in recognizing the SIRS and sepsis while also being aware of the importance of prompt intervention. Aims: The purpose of this study is to assess the knowledge of pediatric nurses of SIRS and reassess their knowledge after a sepsis training program. Methods: This time-series design study from February 2017 to February 2019 included 24 nursing staff involved in taking care of pediatric patients. The nurses were divided into two groups and they underwent a one-day training on sepsis. They were the evaluated periodically on their knowledge on pediatric sepsis at four different time points. The retention of knowledge was calculated based on the change in scores, as per mean numeric scores, immediately after the training compared to 12 and 24 months after the training.  Results: In the thematic area ‘Early recognition of signs/symptoms of SIRS’ and ‘Assessment of application of knowledge’, there was a significant change (<0.001) from baseline in the mean scores once the nurses underwent training. The KAP assessment revealed a low total score of 14.5 out of 25 prior to the SIRS/Sepsis training There was a significant change (<0.001) in the mean knowledge score after the one-day training, 14.5 compared to 22.3, and the knowledge was retained 12 months after the training 19.2, whereas after 24 months post-training was 15.9. Conclusion: There is an urgent need to train and constantly re-train our nursing staff to ensure their ability of to accurately and efficiently recognize sepsis and hence help prevent pediatric morbidity and mortality.