Selected Socio-economic, Environmental, Maternal, and Child Factors Associated with the Nutritional Status of Infants and Toddlers

Abstract

Malnutrition is one of the most widespread public health problems facing India today. Among the highly susceptible groups are infants and toddlers (0-3 years old), who constitute nearly 10% of Indian's population. Unfortunately, they are largely ignored from a nutritional standpoint [1]. There is now a growing realization that malnutrition is not only a problem of food supply but can also be a function of more complex big-social and behavioural determinants affecting child feeding and rearing [2]. In the present study, therefore, we have attempted to identify various socio-economic, environmental, and maternal factors and the childfeeding and childrearing practices of mothers that affect the nutritional status of infants and toddlers. Methods and materials SampleTen urban slum areas in the city of Baroda and nine rural villages in the Panchmahals and Bharuch districts of Gujarat state were randomly selected for the study. These slums and villages did not have any ongoing nutrition programmes. All children 0-3 years old living in the selected study areas and available during the survey were the subjects (N = 786). ToolsThree pre-structured, pre-tested forms -family, maternal, and child -were used to collect the required information on each subject. Factors studiedThe factors studied for their association with the nutritional status of the children included family type, family size, religion, and caste; per capita income and land holding; water facilities, house sanitation, and toilet facilities; mother's educational level, working status, child-care time, height, weight, and obstetric history; breast-feeding, bottle-feeding, and weaning practices; and the child's calorie and protein intake, sex, birth order, and clinical and immunization status. Anthropometric measurementsAll the children were weighed using a Salter scale and were classified on the basis of their weight for age, using the 50th percentile of the Harvard standard and the classification of the Indian Academy of Pediatrics [3]. The mothers, heights and weights were determined by standard procedures. Dietary intakeThe 24-hour dietary intake of each child was determined by interview and observation [4]. Statistical analysisPercentages were calculated and the chi-square (x2) test was used to identify factors significantly associated with the subjects, nutritional status [5].

The Impact of Maternal Workload on Child Nutrition in Rural Iran

“…Several studies have shown that the nutrition status of the children of mothers working outside the home is poorer than that of children of non-working women [1][2][3]. Such findings could be due either to the quality of the alternative child care or to a relationship between poverty and the consequent necessity of working outside the home.…”

Analysis of nutritional status and factors associated with undernutrition in children aged 6-59 months in a rural area of Sri Lanka

“…Knowledge of these factors is particularly important in planning out preventive strategies to decrease the burden of undernutrition. Several previous studies have shown that a number of perinatal factors, including birth weight, birth interval, parity, gestational age 4-6 , and the child's gender 7 , are related to the nutritional status in children. Furthermore, socio-economic conditions 4,8 , living standards, water and sanitation, food intake, weaning practices, and maternal education 4,9 , are also shown to affect the nutritional status in young children.…”

Socio-economic and environmental factors that influence growth patterns in Haitian children

“…Breast milk provides the nutrients and antibodies necessary to sustain infant growth and development, but lactating mothers cannot provide adequate amounts of milk if they themselves are malnourished as a result of chronic poverty, often combined with seasonal fluctuations in food availability (Gopaldas et al 1988;Teokul et al 1986). Early studies in Haiti have found prolonged breastfeeding common in the rural areas, and less widely endorsed in urban areas.…”

“…Environmental factors play an important role in affecting the health status of individuals. Conditions in the surrounding environment, primarily water sources and sewage and waste dumping grounds, often provide growth mediums for animal and bacterial borne diseases (Gopaldas et al 1988;Henry 1981;Isely 1984).…”

“…It is important to observe that improved water systems and proper waste removal must act in tandem to achieve desired health benefits. These two factors have a synergistic relation to each other, especially in crowded urban slums and shanty towns where the close proximity of living arrangements leads to the escalation of environmental contamination (Gopaldas et al 1988;Graham 1972). Water is necessary for the removal of waste, and waste removal is a prerequisite for uncontaminated, potable water.…”