Maternal Knowledge And Its Role In Preventing Childhood Malnutrition In Developing Communities

Abstract

Background: In developing communities, childhood malnutrition is a significant problem in public health, with a significant impact on morbidity, mortality, and poor development. The maternal knowledge is of great importance in influencing the child feeding, hygiene, and the healthcare service use. Objective: The purpose of the study is to determine maternal knowledge about child nutrition and its effectiveness in preventing childhood malnutrition at the resource-limiting conditions. Methodology: A cross-sectional study of 200 mothers of children under five years was done. One collected data through structured questionnaires were assessed based on knowledge of breastfeeding, complementary feeding, hygiene and illness management. The anthropometric indicators were used to measure nutritional status. Findings: About 68 percent of mothers displayed the requisite knowledge on the best feeding habits. Youngsters of educated moms reported lower results of undernourishment (22) than workers of restricted maternal understanding (38). The maternal level of knowledge and the enhanced child nutritional outcomes were statistically significant (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Motherly knowledge plays a major role in child nutrition and would help to decrease the occurrence of malnutrition. The enhancement of community-based education efforts aimed at mothers is critical to the better child health results in developing areas.