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Magnitude of timely initiation of complementary feeding and associated factors among children 6–23 months at Chifra Woreda, Afar Community Based Cross-sectional Study, 2021

Kiros Gereziher1*, Nesredin Abdurahman2

Background: Timely initiation of complementary feeding is the transition from exclusive breastfeeding to other foods in addition to breast milk at the age of 6 months. Initiating complementary feeds too early or too late can lead to malnutrition. Assessment of influencing factors associated with the initiation of complementary feeding practices among mothers of children of age 6–23 months in the districts found to be vital.

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the magnitude of timely initiation of complementary food and associated factors among children 6–23 months old in Chifra district, Afar region, North East Ethiopia, 2021.

Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Chifra district from June first to end of July, 2021, with a randomly selected total sample of 398 mothers or caregivers of children 6–23 months old. Data collection was started after an ethical clearance was received from the Ethical Review Board of Samara University. Data was entered into Epi Info version 7.14 and exported to SPSS software version 21 for analysis. Binary logistic regression with an odds ratio and 95 percent confidence interval was used to see the strength of the association between the dependent variable and each independent variables. Finally, multivariable logistic regression was used to see the predictors of the outcome variable for those variables with a p value < 0.25 at bivariate, which were further analyzed, and statistically significance was considered at a p-value of < 0.05 in multivariable logistic analysis.

Result: The prevalence of timely initiation of complementary feeding in Chifra district was 63.1 percent. After adjusting other variables, frequency of breastfeeding [AOR=2.924 (95% CI: 1.577-5.434)], BCG vaccination [AOR= 2.352 (95% CI: 1.102-5.024)], birth spacing [AOR=1.720 (95% CI: 1.001-2.961)] and place of birth [AOR=2.828 (95% CI: 1.557-5.137)] were statistically significant predictors of timely initiation of complementary food.

Conclusion: The prevalence of timely initiation of complementary food in the district was low as compared with WHO recommendations. Frequency of breastfeeding, BCG vaccination, birth interval and place of delivery were statistically significant predictors.