Nutritional status of infants born to young mothers in Narok County, Kenya

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess breastfeeding practices and determine their association with nutrition status among infants born to adolescent mothers in Transmara West, Narok County. Adolescents' motherhood remains a challenge because they are unprepared for childcare, putting their infants at risk of malnutrition. In order to prevent the occurrence of common illnesses, infants should be fed according to WHO recommendations. However, research on dietary practices and the health of infants belonging to young mothers is scarce in Kenya. Most of the mothers were between 16 to 17 years, with the youngest mother being 14 years old. Breastfeeding practices were as follows; early initiation within one hour was (62.2%), exclusive breastfeeding was (50.0%) and continued breastfeeding at 12 months was (5.5%). Malnutrition levels were 17.1 per cent, 22.0 per cent and 22.0 per cent for wasting, stunting and underweight, respectively. The study did not establish any significant relationship between exclusive breastfeeding and the nutrition status of the infants. Similar research should be replicated especially to compare the nutrition status of infants of adult mothers with that of young mothers in the same study area.