Abstract:
INTRODUCTION : Appropriate complementary foods have been found to provide infants and
young children with nutritional needs for their growth and development. In the absence of
a randomized control trial (RCT), this study used observational data to evaluate the effect
of appropriate complementary feeding practices on the nutritional status of children aged
6–23 months in Malawi using a propensity score matching statistical technique.
METHODS : Data on 4,722 children aged 6 to 23 months from the 2015–16 Malawi
Demographic and Health Survey (MDHS) were analyzed. Appropriate complementary
feeding practices were assessed using the core indicators recommended by the World
Health Organization (WHO)/United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and consist of
the introduction of complementary feeding, minimum dietary diversity, minimum meal
frequency and minimum acceptable diet based on a dietary intake during a most recent
24-h period.
RESULTS : The prevalence of stunting (height-for-age z-score < −2 SD) was 31.9%
(95% CI: 29.3%, 34.6%), wasting (weight-for-height z-score < −2 SD) 3.5% (95% CI:
2.6%, 4.7%) and underweight (weight-for-age z-score < −2 SD) 9.9% (95% CI: 8.4%,
11.8%). Of the 4,722 children, 7.7% (95% CI: 6.9%, 8.5%) were provided appropriate
complementary foods. Appropriate complementary feeding practices were found to
result in significant decrease in stunting (OR = 0.7, 95% CI: 0.4, 0.95). They also resulted
in the decrease of wasting (OR = 0.4, 95%CI: 0.1, 1.7) and underweight (OR = 0.6, 95%
CI: 0.2, 1.7).
CONCLUSION : Appropriate complementary feeding practices resulted in a reduction of
stunting, wasting, and underweight among children 6 to 23 months of age in Malawi. We recommend the continued provision of appropriate complementary foods to infants
and young children to ensure that the diet has adequate nutritional needs for their
healthy growth.
