Factors influencing early introduction of complementary feeding in children under 2 years in Limpopo province

Background An infant needs adequate, safe and appropriate complementary foods, with continued breastfeeding, at the age of six for survival, growth and development. However, young mothers stopped breastfeeding their children earlier than the recommended time and this often leads to the early introdu...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Curationis (Pretoria) Vol. 48; no. 1; pp. e1 - e6
Main Authors: Makhavhu, Ndiambani A., Raliphaswa, Ndidzulafhi S., Rangwaneni, Mphedziseni E.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: South Africa AOSIS 17.10.2025
African Online Scientific Information Systems (Pty) Ltd t/a AOSIS
AOSIS (Pty) Ltd
Subjects:
Adult
Age
Babies
Breast feeding
Breast Feeding - psychology
Breastfeeding & lactation
Children & youth
children under 2 years
Consent
Diarrhea
early complementary feeding
early introduction
factors
feeding practices
Female
Focus groups
Focus Groups - methods
Food
Food and nutrition
Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
Humans
Infant
infant nutrition
Infant Nutritional Physiological Phenomena
Infants
Interviews
Male
Malnutrition
Mothers - psychology
Nutrition
Qualitative Research
Research design
South Africa
infant nutrition
children under 2 years
early complementary feeding
early introduction
feeding practices
factors
ISSN:0379-8577, 2223-6279, 2223-6279
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Background An infant needs adequate, safe and appropriate complementary foods, with continued breastfeeding, at the age of six for survival, growth and development. However, young mothers stopped breastfeeding their children earlier than the recommended time and this often leads to the early introduction of food before the target age of 6 months. If this continues, malnutrition in children under 2 years will increase, leading to growth retardation, delayed mental development and impaired intellectual level. Objectives This article aimed to determine factors influencing early introduction of complementary feeding in children under 2 years in the selected hospitals of Vhembe District, Limpopo province. Method A qualitative approach was adopted. Purposive sampling was used to select four hospitals with high admission rates of malnutrition in the Vhembe District of the Limpopo province. Unstructured focus group discussions were conducted with 32 young mothers who were purposively sampled. Data were analysed using Tesch’s eight steps. Measures to ensure trustworthiness were employed. Ethical considerations were adhered to throughout the study. Results The study findings revealed that young mothers had different knowledge about infant feeding of children under 2 years of age because of cultural beliefs and insufficient information on appropriate food types. This may have a negative impact on the normal growth and development of children as they lack proper nutrients. Conclusion The study provided knowledge of varied beliefs and misconceptions regarding complementary feeding. Contribution This study adds information to improve young mothers’ knowledge about complementary feeding.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
content type line 14
content type line 23
ISSN:0379-8577
2223-6279
2223-6279
DOI:10.4102/curationis.v48i1.2799