Feeding practices of caregivers with children attending early childhood development centres in Xhariep, South Africa

Health SA Gesondheid

 
 
Field Value
 
Title Feeding practices of caregivers with children attending early childhood development centres in Xhariep, South Africa
 
Creator Carson-Porter, Angelique C. van den Berg, Violet L. Meko, Ntsoaki L.
 
Subject Nutrition; Dietetics child health; mothers; poverty; rural; unemployment; educational level.
Description Background: In low- to middle-income countries, malnutrition is a major contributing factor in children failing to achieve their developmental potential. The prevention of malnutrition requires, among others, nutritious, diverse and safe foods in early childhood.Aim: The study aimed to determine primary caregivers’ choices and motivation for the foods they fed their children.Setting: The study was conducted among early childhood development centres in the Xhariep District, Free State.Methods: A qualitative study was undertaken. Twelve participants who met the inclusion criteria were conveniently sampled. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to find out the primary caregivers’ choices and motivation for foods they fed their children until data saturation was reached.Results: The mean age of the participants was 31 years. Nine of the participants relied on social grants as a source of income. The participants reported feeding their children mainly maize porridge, milk, juice, and water. Vegetables and meat were fed to the children once a week. Fruits were fed to the children at the beginning of the month.Conclusion: The level of education, employment status, and community support influenced the primary caregivers’ feeding practices. The content of the diets of their children was insufficient in vegetables and fruit, not only placing the children at risk of undernutrition but also at risk of obesity and micronutrient deficiencies. Primary caregivers ensured their children were fed, although limited foods were offered.Contribution: This research creates awareness of the level of social progress and access to resources within rural communities in the Xhariep district, and gives the opportunity to extend this research to confirm these findings in other poverty-stricken areas.
 
Publisher AOSIS Publishing
 
Contributor National Institute for Health and Care Research through the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
Date 2024-07-02
 
Type info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion — Qualitative research
Format text/html application/epub+zip text/xml application/pdf
Identifier 10.4102/hsag.v29i0.2575
 
Source Health SA Gesondheid; Vol 29 (2024); 11 pages 2071-9736 1025-9848
 
Language eng
 
Relation
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https://hsag.co.za/index.php/hsag/article/view/2575/html https://hsag.co.za/index.php/hsag/article/view/2575/epub https://hsag.co.za/index.php/hsag/article/view/2575/xml https://hsag.co.za/index.php/hsag/article/view/2575/pdf
 
Coverage xhariep disctrict march 2021 31;Female; Black and Coloured
Rights Copyright (c) 2024 Angelique C. Carson-Porter, Violet L. van den Berg, Ntsoaki L. Meko https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
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