Water, Koko, and Appetite. Complementary Feeding Practices in Kumasi, Ghana

摘要

This is one of two studies of complementary feeding practices conducted in West Africa in Ghana and Mali. Both studies examined the process of complementary feeding of infants in a context of high childhood malnutrition. Both studies compared the interaction between mother and child in a group of well-nourished children and a group of malnourished children, looking for contrasts in the nature of that interaction. This report presents the findings from the Ghana study. The results of the Mali study are reported in Introducing Complementary Foods to Infants in Central Mali (Castle et al., 2001). Data from the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) indicate that malnutrition among young children in West Africa first appears at about four to six months of age, and peaks at about 21 months of age. The causes of malnutrition are complex. At the most basic level, malnutrition results from inadequate food consumption and infectious disease. Inadequate food intake may be due to insufficient availability of food at the household level or improper feeding practices (Haggerty et al., 1998). Where food is available in the household, it is assumed that malnutrition occurs because of disease or improper feeding practices by the caregiver. Examples of the latter are failure to feed age-appropriate foods to the child and failure to feed the child sufficient quantities of food. However, many questions remain about the factors that determine the nutritional status of young children: What is the role of feeding behaviors. What is the role of the mother's social network. What is the role of the child's actions. How might we characterize the interaction between mother and child. How critical is this interaction to children's nutrition.