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Background: Improving children's weight status through nutrition education (NE) for mothers about using pulses in complementary feeding has been demonstrated in pilot studies, but no effect on stunting was reported. The aim of the study was to assess the impact of a 9-month pulse-nutrition education program on improving mothers' knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) towards pulses, as well as its effect on children's diet diversity, and nutritional status. The NE was delivered by Health Extension Workers (HEWs).Methods: A cluster randomized study was employed for the community-based interventional study. Twelve randomly selected villages in Sidama Zone, Southern Ethiopia were included in the study. A total of 772 mother-child pairs involved in the study; where 386 mother-child pairs in the intervention group received additional messages about pulse-cereal complementary food, and 386 pairs (the control) received only routine health education for 9 months. A survey on mothers' KAP and anthropometric measurements of the children were taken at baseline, midpoint, and end point. ANOVA and descriptive statistics were used to analyzed data.Results: At baseline and end point, maternal KAP and the dietary diversity score of the children (mean age at end point 18.8 ± 2.9 mo) were assessed. Intervention mothers' KAP improved (p < 0.001) at midpoint and end point compared to that of the control group, as did frequency of pulse consumption and Dietary Diversity Score (DDS) among children. At 9 months, the prevalence of stunting, wasting, and underweight was significantly reduced in the intervention group compared to the control group (p = 0.001).Conclusions: NE delivered by HEWs improved KAP of mothers regarding pulse consumption and dietary diversity of children led to improved nutritional status of the children. Training HEWs on the use of pulses for complementary food may be an effective way to improve the health of children in Ethiopian communities.Trial Registration: Clinicaltrials.gov # NCT02638571 . Date of registration: 12/18/2015. Prospectively registered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Maternal and child under nutrition is highly prevalent in low-income and middle-income countries, resulting in substantial increases in mortality and overall disease burden. The aim of this baseline survey was to determine the association between selected maternal characteristics, maternal nutritional status and children’s nutritional status. Methods and Findings: A survey with a cross sectional design was conducted between September and October 2012 in Hula, Ethiopia. The study subjects were 197 mothers of children between the ages of 6 and 23 months. Weight and height (mothers) or recumbent length (children) were measured using calibrated, standardized techniques. Seven percent of children were below -2 weight for height Z score (WHZ), 11.5% were below -2 height for age Z score (HAZ) and 9.9% were below -2 weight for age Z score (WAZ). Maternal anthropometrics were associated with child nutritional status in the bivariate analysis. Maternal BMI (r = 0.16 P = 0.02) and educational status (r = 0.25 P = 0.001) were correlated with WHZ of children while maternal height (r = 0.2 P = 0.007) was correlated with HAZ of children. After multivariate analysis, children whose mothers had salary from employment had a better WHZ score (P = 0.001) and WAZ score (P<0.001). Both maternal BMI and maternal height were associated with WHZ (P = 0.04) and HAZ (P = 0.01) score of children. Conclusion: Having a mother with better nutritional status and salaried employment is a benefit for the nutritional status of the child. The interrelationship between maternal and child nutritional status stresses the value of improving maternal nutritional status as this should improve both maternal and child health outcomes. Therefore strategies to improve nutritional status of children should also include improving the nutritional status of the mother and empowering her financially. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poor complementary feeding practices contribute to infants and young children (IYC) malnutrition, with lack of protein-containing food and micronutrients as major concerns. A cross-sectional survey was conducted to assess the dietary diversity, nutrient contents and use of pulse crops in complementary feeding at Taba kebele, Southern Ethiopia. A questionnaire was used to collect socio-demographic and dietary diversity data from a random sample of 128 mother-child pairs. A one day weighed food record assessed IYC median nutrient intake. Focus group discussion explored mothers' perceptions and use of pulse crops in complementary food preparation. Dietary diversity assessment found that 43.7% consumed pulses, and only 18.7% consumed meat and 26.6% eggs. Focus group discussion showed that mothers had little interest in incorporating pulses into complementary foods. Raising awareness of mothers/caregivers on food diversification and promoting the inclusion of pulses in food preparation for infants and young children are vital to nutritional status of IYC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]