Abstract:
Background: Breastfeeding is widely recognized as the gold standard for infant feeding in the first six
months of life, providing essential nutrients and antibodies for optimal growth and development.
However, suboptimal breastfeeding practices and inadequate complementary feeding can contribute to
malnutrition. This study assessed complementary feeding practices associated with nutritional status in
breastfed children.
Materials and methods: The study population were children aged 6 to 59 months in Kericho County.
The study was designed as an institutional based cross-sectional survey of children seen in Kericho
County Referral Hospital and Kakaptet Sub- County Hospital. Simple random sampling was used to
select 172 study participants across these hospitals. Descriptive statistics, chi square and Fischer’s exact
tests were carried out. Additionally, both unadjusted and adjusted odds ratio were obtained using
multinomial regression analysis. Ethical standards were strictly adhered to throughout the study.
Results: Findings revealed that 75 (43.6%) children were aged between 24 and 59 months, 55 (32%)
were aged 9 to 23 months and 42 (24.4%) were aged 6 to 8 months. Approximately two-thirds of
caregivers had attained secondary education (n=77, 44.8%). Stunting was prevalent in 25% of the
children, while both wasting and underweight affected 23.8%. Approximately 39% of caregivers
introduced their children to complementary feeds before six months of age. Only 39.2% of children aged
6 to 23 months consumed five or more food groups for minimum dietary diversity (MDD). In the study,
95.9% of the children met the recommended minimum meal frequency (MMF), but only 39.2% had the
minimum acceptable diet (MAD).
Conclusion: Introduction of complementary food after 6 months reduced the likelihood of wasting and
stunting. Implementing targeted nutrition interventions for children aged 6 to 59 months in Kericho
County is imperative.
