IMPACT OF CHILD FEEDING PRACTICES ON NUTRITIONAL STATUS OF CHILDREN IN UTTARAKHAND

Background: Child feeding practices are the major contributors to the growth of children and have a crucial impact on the nutritional status of children. Awareness about the role of breastfeeding and complementary foods along with the knowledge about their nutritional benefits for the development, growth of infants is very important especially in rural areas. Objective: To know breastfeeding practices and nutritional status among children with focus on strengthening these practices to improve the health of infants in Uttarakhand. Material and Methods: Z-score test for two population proportions was used for specifying the significance level and test P-value was used for comparing the state i.e. Uttarakhand and its districts according to the two divisions namely, Kumaon and Garhwal. Results: In Kumaon division, the districts with healthy child feeding practices was observed were Udham Singh Nagar and Bageshwar, whereas in Garhwal division, Haridwar, Pauri Garhwal, and Rudraprayag were the districts with better practices as compared to the whole state. It was also observed that Garhwal division is rated higher than Kumaon division for best child feeding practices adopted while raising children. Conclusion: Through this study, it has been concluded that breastfeeding was prevalent in rural women but there lies a scope of improvement in their knowledge pertaining to the feeding practices. Keywords: Child Feeding, Breastfeeding, Complementary feeding, Infants, Nutrition, Uttarakhand