EC Nutrition

Background: Suboptimal child feeding practice is widely documented to be associated with an increased risk of acute respiratory tract infections (ARI) among children below two years. Although the reduction of acute respiratory tract infection due to feeding problem was encouraging until 2010; the national prevalence of ARI is unchanged. Thus, we examined the association between acute respiratory tract infections and infant and young child feeding practices among 6 to 23 months old children attending public health centers in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Objective: To examine the association between acute respiratory tract infections and infant and young child feeding practices.

Methods: A facility based analytical cross-sectional design was conducted from August to September, 2023 among 342 children aged 6- to 23-months paired with their mothers in three randomly selected public health centers located in Addis Ababa. Data on socio-demographic, household, child health and feeding practices were collected through face-to-face interview using electronic method. The collected information was entered and analyzed using the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 26. The association between IYCF practices and ARI was analysed using Chi-square test and binary logistic regression model, respectively.

Result: The overall proportion of infants and children with acute respiratory tract infection was 31%. Early initiation of breastfeeding (AOR 0.57; 95% CI: 0.39, 0.82) and Exclusively Breastfed for the first two days after birth (AOR 0.64; 95% CI: 0.45, 0.91) were associated with lower risk of ARI. Infants and children who were frequently fed (AOR 0.54; 95% CI: 0.38, 0.76) and consumed fruits and vegetables (AOR 0.37; 95% CI: 0.23, 0.61) were also less likely to experience ARI compared to their counterparts.

Conclusion: Highlighting a critical knowledge gap, our study revealed that approximately one in three participants had experienced acute respiratory tract infection attributed to suboptimal feeding. Actions targeting the revised IYCF practices that include early initiation of breastfeeding, exclusive breastfeeding in the first two days after delivery, consumption of vegetables or fruits and frequent feeding of infants and children are recommended.

 Keywords: Acute Respiratory Tract Infections; WHO Infant and Young Child Feeding Indicators

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