Attitudes, beliefs and social norms regarding infant and young child feeding among Nigerian mothers, fathers and grandmothers across time

Abstract

Infant and young child feeding (IYCF) interventions in low‐resource countries mainly target pregnant women and mothers of young children; however, fathers and grandmothers also influence IYCF practices. We conducted focus group discussions with mothers, fathers and grandmothers of young children across three time points in areas where an IYCF social and behaviour change intervention was implemented in Nigeria to explore differences by participant type and shifts over time in attitudes, beliefs and social norms related to breastfeeding and dietary diversity (DD). Overall, across time points, we found more discrepancies in attitudes, beliefs and social norms for early initiation of breastfeeding (EIBF) and exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) among different participant types than for DD. Although most participants agreed EIBF and EBF are good practices, mothers believed this more strongly than fathers and grandmothers; however, at endline, a shift towards acceptance of EIBF and EBF appeared among fathers and grandmothers. Across time points, all participant types acknowledged the nutritional and health benefits of green leafy vegetables and animal‐source foods but described various barriers to feeding them to children. Across time points, all participant types also highlighted the importance of health workers and antenatal visits as important sources of IYCF knowledge and facilitators to following recommended practices. Insights from this study highlight the importance of including key influencers of IYCF practices in qualitative research.

Behavioural drivers of child feeding during and after illness in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: results from a qualitative study through the lens of behavioural science

“…It also describes how nutrition counselling by health workers that emphasises specific recommended foods for sick and recovering children may inadvertently reinforce perceptions that other foods are inappropriate or not worthwhile during these times. Prior studies have also documented fears that certain feeding practices might predispose children to have certain expectations and influence their later behaviour, such as a fear that if a child becomes accustomed to eating eggs and other animal-source foods, they might steal or beg for those foods (27)(28)(29) . Fears about the impacts of eggs or other animal-source foods persist despite an absence of evidence that feeding children those foods has any impact on children's later behaviour (27) .…”