Table 1.

Operational definition of the lactating mother in Chiro district, Eastern Ethiopia June 1–30, 2020 (n = 446).

Lactating mother:	Mothers aged 15–49 years who have children 6–23 months of age, and currently expressing breast milk for their infant/child (11).
Food secure mothers:	Mothers who have experienced none of the food–insecure (access) conditions or have just been worried, although rarely, during the past 4 weeks (1).
Food insecure mothers:	Mothers who are unable at all times to access food sufficient to lead an active and healthy life (includes all stages of food insecurity; mild, moderate, and severe) (1). Food insecurity was coded as 1 if households of the lactating mother are food insecure and coded as 0 if food secure.
Mildly food–insecure mothers:	Mothers who worry about not having enough food sometimes or often and/or are unable to eat preferred foods and/or eat a more monotonous diet than desired and/ or some foods considered undesirable, but only rarely (1).
Moderately food-insecure mothers:	Mothers who sacrifice quality more frequently, by eating a monotonous diet or undesirable foods sometimes or often, and/or have started to cut back on quantity by reducing the size of meals or number of meals, rarely or sometimes. However, they do not experience any of the three most severe conditions (1).
Severely food-insecure mothers:	Mothers who have been forced to cut back on the meal size or meals often and/or experience any of the three most severe conditions (running out of food, going to bed hungry, or going a whole day and night without eating), even as infrequently as rarely (1).