Table 2.
Participant responses to infant and young child feeding knowledge questions.
| Infant or young child feeding topic | N † | n (%) or mean (95% CI) |
|---|---|---|
| Best food for a newborn infant | 223 | |
| Breastmilk | 192 (86%) | |
| Breastmilk or infant formula | 20 (9%) | |
| Infant formula | 2 (1%) | |
| Other | 9 (4%) | |
| Exceptions to exclusive breastfeeding | 229 | |
| Nothing | 142 (62%) | |
| Vitamin D drops | 24 (10%) | |
| Medication (if needed) | 1 (1%) | |
| Other ‡ | 62 (27%) | |
| Reasons not to breastfeed (Yes) | 229 | 124 (54%) |
| Maternal reasons§ | 169 | |
| Illness and/or medication | 57 (34%) | |
| Breastfeeding difficulties/mother's choice | 34 (20%) | |
| Insufficient breast milk | 27 (16%) | |
| Drugs/alcohol | 22 (13%) | |
| HIV/AIDS | 6 (3%) | |
| Other ¶ | 23 (14%) | |
| Infant Reasons§ | 66 | |
| Illness | 21 (32%) | |
| Rejection of breast milk/allergies | 19 (29%) | |
| Latch issues | 18 (27%) | |
| Other †† | 8 (12%) | |
| Age to terminate any breastfeeding, months | 211 | 18.3 (16.7, 19.9) |
| Age to start complementary feeding, months | 223 | 9.2 (8.2, 10.2) |
| Best first solid food | 219 | |
| Vegetables | 79 (36%) | |
| Baby cereal | 62 (28%) | |
| Fruits | 31 (14%) | |
| Commercial baby food | 28 (13%) | |
| Meat and Meat Alternatives | 7 (3%) | |
| Other ‡‡ | 12 (6%) | |
| Reasoning for best first solid food type | 158 | |
| Generally nutritious | 48 (30%) | |
| Soft texture | 42 (27%) | |
| Easy digestion | 28 (18%) | |
| Iron content | 7 (4%) | |
| Other §§ | 33 (21%) | |
| Age to introduce lumpy complementary foods, months | 220 | 12.5 (11.3, 13.6) |
| Age to introduce family foods, months | 224 | 18.2 (16.5, 19.8) |
| cow's milk is appropriate for infants and young children (Yes) | 226 | 163 (72%) |
| Type of cow's milk to introduce (milk fat percentage) | 161 | |
| 3.25% | 100 (62%) | |
| 2% | 29 (18%) | |
| 1% | 12 (8%) | |
| Skim | 15 (9%) | |
| Any | 5 (3%) | |
| Age to introduce cow's milk, months | 160 | 13.7 (12.2, 15.2) |
| Age to start drinking from an open cup, months | 221 | 20.4 (18.8, 21.9) |
| Contraindicated complementary foods§ | 227 | |
| Choking hazards | 87 (23%) | |
| None | 70 (19%) | |
| Potential allergens (nuts, seafood etc.) | 54 (14%) | |
| Highly processed foods (sodium, fat, sugar) | 52 (14%) | |
| Meat | 47 (12%) | |
| Honey | 19 (5%) | |
| Other ¶¶ | 49 (13%) |
N differs due to participants skipping some questions.
Other exceptions to exclusive breastfeeding include general solid foods (n=16), water (n=20), baby cereal (n=10), infant formula (n=8), juice (n=5), commercial baby food (n=2), iron supplement (n=1).
N differs because multiple responses were accepted; % calculated out of total responses.
Other maternal reasons to not breastfeed include physical breast or nipple issues (i.e. “nipple too small”, “inverted nipple”, etc.; n=6), smoking (n=5), breast cancer (n=5), poor maternal diet (n=4), child adopted (n=1), tattoos (n=1), hepatitis (n=1).
Other infant reasons to not breastfeed include disease passed through breast milk (n=4), reflux (n=2), premature birth (n=1), child adopted (n=1)
Other best first solid foods include “fresh”(minimally processed) foods (n=2), rice (n=2), custard (n=1), Cheerios™ (n=1), yogurt (n=1), sunflower butter (n=1), noodles (n=1), cheese puffs (n=1), rice crackers (n=1), amala (n=1)
Other reasoning for best first solid food include conventional/past experience (n=5), doctor recommended (n=4), minimally processed (n=4), manufactured for babies (n=4), easy to prepare (n=3), allergen free (n=2), protein source (n=2), potassium source (n=1), high fat (n=1), satiating (n=1), necessary (n=1), can supplement breast milk (n=1), easily mixed with breast milk (n=1), versatile food (n=1), variety of foods important (n=1), inexpensive (n=1)
Other contraindicated complementary foods include general fruits/vegetables (n=24), spicy foods (n=7), bread (n=4), raw meat/fish (n=3), crackers (n=3), foods that “produce intestinal discomfort” (n=2), most solid foods (n=1), rice (n=1), eba (n=1), fermented foods (n=1), chickpeas (n=1), raisins (n=1)