. 2019 Feb 12;15(Suppl 1):e12735. doi: 10.1111/mcn.12735

Table 2.

Profiles of two women's experiences with maternal, infant, and young child nutrition and family planning practices

Profile 1	Profile 2
Mother is 18 years old, works as a farmer, and has a 4 month old infant as well as a 22 month old. She lives with her husband and their children, mother and father in law, and three brothers‐in‐law and their wives and children. Her husband's responsibility is providing food, taking the infant to the hospital for care, and finding money to purchase clothing. She feeds her child only breast milk, because she feels he is still small, she is building a bond with him, and she wants him to grow healthy and strong. She and her husband agreed together that she would feed the child only breast milk for the first 6 months. She had breastfed the older infant for a much shorter time and felt she wanted things to happen differently this time. She breastfeeds him anytime he wakes or cries, and she doesn't have concerns about the quantity of her breast milk. She is motivated to eat well so she can have enough energy to breastfeed. She plans to continue breastfeeding him until he is 2 years old. For herself, she eats stiff porridge with vegetables or sauce, maize, meat, fish, rice, and beans. Just 1 week ago, she started using a contraceptive implant, which she opted for due to the close spacing of her previous pregnancies. The decision to use a family planning method was made together with her husband, although she says her husband was ultimately the one to make the decision. Decisions about infant feeding were made by her husband, mother‐in‐law, and father‐in‐law.	Mother is 18 years old. She has a 3 month old infant who is her only child. She lives with her grandmother, mother, and three siblings. She does not have a close relationship with the father of her child. She works in a shop during the day, but has not yet returned to work since she gave birth. Fourteen hours after the baby was born, she fed him lemonade and then initiated breastfeeding. During the first month, she gave him lemonade because his stomach was filled with gas and her mother advised that the lemonade would reduce the gas. At 2 months, she began feeding the baby tea, which she felt minimized his crying (she also mentioned the nurse advised introducing tea to help motivate breastfeeding). At 3 months, she felt that he was not being sufficiently filled because he was crying frequently, so her mother advised her to initiate porridge. She also feeds him cow's milk once during the day and at night, and she has noticed that that results in him sleeping well. She has noticed that her own breast milk is “very light…like water.” She is not currently using a family planning method but plans to after her son stops breastfeeding. She says the decision to use FP is hers, but she is influenced somewhat by her mother. Regarding her grandmother's influence, she “becomes so upset saying it's too bad because God gave you the ability to have children but you don't want to have them.” She said she would like to receive more information about family planning but has not yet sought out this information at the health facility. She also said she has not received much advice about infant nutrition. Decisions about feeding her child are influenced by her father and mother, “for instance when there is no milk they provide money to buy some more milk or they ask me if some more milk is needed.”

Profile 1

Profile 2

Mother is 18 years old, works as a farmer, and has a 4 month old infant as well as a 22 month old. She lives with her husband and their children, mother and father in law, and three brothers‐in‐law and their wives and children. Her husband's responsibility is providing food, taking the infant to the hospital for care, and finding money to purchase clothing. She feeds her child only breast milk, because she feels he is still small, she is building a bond with him, and she wants him to grow healthy and strong. She and her husband agreed together that she would feed the child only breast milk for the first 6 months. She had breastfed the older infant for a much shorter time and felt she wanted things to happen differently this time. She breastfeeds him anytime he wakes or cries, and she doesn't have concerns about the quantity of her breast milk. She is motivated to eat well so she can have enough energy to breastfeed. She plans to continue breastfeeding him until he is 2 years old. For herself, she eats stiff porridge with vegetables or sauce, maize, meat, fish, rice, and beans. Just 1 week ago, she started using a contraceptive implant, which she opted for due to the close spacing of her previous pregnancies. The decision to use a family planning method was made together with her husband, although she says her husband was ultimately the one to make the decision. Decisions about infant feeding were made by her husband, mother‐in‐law, and father‐in‐law.

Mother is 18 years old. She has a 3 month old infant who is her only child. She lives with her grandmother, mother, and three siblings. She does not have a close relationship with the father of her child. She works in a shop during the day, but has not yet returned to work since she gave birth. Fourteen hours after the baby was born, she fed him lemonade and then initiated breastfeeding. During the first month, she gave him lemonade because his stomach was filled with gas and her mother advised that the lemonade would reduce the gas. At 2 months, she began feeding the baby tea, which she felt minimized his crying (she also mentioned the nurse advised introducing tea to help motivate breastfeeding). At 3 months, she felt that he was not being sufficiently filled because he was crying frequently, so her mother advised her to initiate porridge. She also feeds him cow's milk once during the day and at night, and she has noticed that that results in him sleeping well. She has noticed that her own breast milk is “very light…like water.” She is not currently using a family planning method but plans to after her son stops breastfeeding. She says the decision to use FP is hers, but she is influenced somewhat by her mother. Regarding her grandmother's influence, she “becomes so upset saying it's too bad because God gave you the ability to have children but you don't want to have them.” She said she would like to receive more information about family planning but has not yet sought out this information at the health facility. She also said she has not received much advice about infant nutrition. Decisions about feeding her child are influenced by her father and mother, “for instance when there is no milk they provide money to buy some more milk or they ask me if some more milk is needed.”