Effect of Maternal Age and Occupation on Feeding Habits and Nutritional Status of under Five Children in Kibiya and Dala Local Government Areas, Kano Nigeria

Background: Children less than five years worldwide are known to be vulnerable and susceptible in many respects, especially on matters on health. Nutritional deficiencies and malnutrition generally affect children more than any other group. Poor nutrition occurs in developing countries, as well as in more prosperous areas of the world.

Objective: The objective of this study focused on the effect of maternal Occupation and Age on feeding habit, and nutritional status of under-five children in Kibiya (rural) and Dala (Urban) local government areas of Kano State Nigeria,

Study Design: A descriptive research design was adopted by this study to assess the level of nutritional status of under-five-children and to determine the relationship between age, occupation, economic status, attitudes and practices of mothers. Structured questionnaire was used to collect data on nutritional status, knowledge, attitudes and nutrition-related practices for a limited time period.

Place and Duration of the Study: The study was conducted in two local government areas in Kano State, DALA and KIBIYA LGA, between February, 2019 to July, 2019.

Methods: Descriptive research design was used for data collection. 198 and 170 mothers with their children from Kibiya and Dala respectively, were used for the study. Data generated was analyzed using Spss, Excel and was presented using frequency table, percentage, mean, standard deviation and correlation.

Results: In Kibiya, there was a very weak, positive correlation between maternal age under-five nutritional status with the exception of weight-for-height, which was found to be statistically significant (p<0.005). In Dala, the relationship was a very weak negative correlation with the exception of height-for-age which is positive correlated (p<0.005). Majority of the children were severely stunted with 44.1% in Dala and 56.1% in Kibya, but there was no significant difference in the prevalence of severe stunting between the two LGAs. Furthermore, majority of the under-fives were within the range of adequate weight: 45.5% Dala and 58.2% Kibiya. However, the prevalence of severely underweight children in Kibiya is 11.2%. This is significantly higher compared to Dala with 2.4% which means severe underweight children in Kibiya is almost five times that in Dala. Prevalence of wasting (mild, moderate and severe) among under-five children were significantly higher in Dala compared to Kibiya (p<0.01).

Conclusion: The findings from this study shows that maternal Age is a significant factor that affect the nutritional status of the children in both local government but maternal Occupation has less impact on nutritional status of the children.