TITLE:
Barriers to Optimal Maternal and Child Feeding Practices in Pastoralist Areas of Somali Region, Eastern Ethiopia: A Qualitative Study
AUTHORS:
Abdulahi Haji Abas, Ahmed Tahir Ahmed, Abdifatah Elmi Farah, Girma Taddese Wedajo
KEYWORDS:
Barriers, Maternal, Child, Nutrition, Somali Region, Eastern Ethiopia
JOURNAL NAME:
Food and Nutrition Sciences,
Vol.11 No.6,
June
18,
2020
ABSTRACT: Maternal and child nutrition is critical for child
health and survival. Appropriate feeding practices are of fundamental
importance for health, nutrition, survival and development of infants and
children. In pastoral areas of Ethiopia, barriers related to culture, knowledge, social norms, beliefs, behaviors,
decision making in the household and burden of other responsibilities
contribute to nutritional status of women and children to deteriorate. Policies
and strategies are recommending assessment of barriers for designing programs
and interventions to improve maternal and child nutrition practices. This study
is aimed to assess barriers of optimal maternal and child feeding practices in
Pastoralist areas of Somali region, Eastern Ethiopia. A qualitative community
based research method was used involving 17 focus group discussions and 20
in-depth interviews with mothers, grandmothers, health professionals and
religious leaders from three districts. Data from FGDs and interviews were
transcribed and coded. The agreed upon codes were synthesized and grouped into exhaustive categories. The categories were then
merged into themes representing the most common barriers on maternal and
child feeding practice that emerged from the FGDs and interviews. We found that traditional
beliefs, myths, culture custodian influence, low accessibility and availability
of nutritional foods, pattern and burden of other responsibilities, poor
knowledge and health seeking behavior, perceived milk insufficiency as main
barriers for optimal maternal and child feeding practices. Barriers on optimal maternal and child feeding are very
common in the study areas. More work needs to be done to strengthen community-based
nutrition with strong social behavioral
change communication with emphasis on age-specific counselling on
maternal and child nutrition at health facilities, during antenatal and early
postnatal visits in the study areas through different media channels,
particularly, Somali Region TV and FMs to promote optimal nutrition in the
region.