Effect of a Nutrition Education Intervention on Food Safety Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices of Mothers of Children under 5 Years in the Peri-Urban Areas of Bobo-Dioulasso: Before and after Study

Background: This study assessed the effect of a nutrition education intervention. This intervention aimed to improve the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of mothers on food safety in the peri-urban areas of Bobo-Dioulasso in Burkina Faso. Methods: A total of 243 mothers of children under 5 years in the peri-urban of Bobo-Dioulasso were administered the FAO questionnaire for food safety knowledge, attitudes, and practices assessment during two cross-sectional surveys, before and after the intervention, in January and October 2017. The intervention included two components consisting of a theoretical phase (counselling and discussion) and cooking demonstrations implemented for ten months. To account for the before-and-after design of the study, the McNemar’s test was used to assess the effect of the intervention on food safety KAP of mothers of children under 5 years. Results: The mean age of mothers was 29 ± 6.2 years and 50.6% of them were between 20 and 29 years old. One for knowledge (cooking thoroughly with, p-value = 0.0001) and another for attitudes (perceived benefits of reheating leftovers before eating them, p-value = 0.0001), significantly increased after the intervention. In terms of food safety practices, all the indicators (cleaning of dirty surfaces, plates and utensils and storage of perishable foods) significantly increased (all p = 0.0001 Conclusion: This study provided some evidence of an effective nutrition education intervention for improving maternal KAP on food safety for their child’s feeding.

Mothers’challenges and experiences of children with cerebral palsy:a qualitative meta-synthesis

Objective:To examine what challenges and experiences a mother faces in caring for children with cerebral palsy(CP).As the main caregiver of children with CP,mothers are under multiple pressures.Even though mothers’challenges and experiences of children with CP will affect their quality of life and the rehabilitation of the children,little is known about their challenges and experiences during the whole care.Methods:A qualitative meta-synthesis was conducted to extract and analyze qualitative research from the PubMed,CINAHL,PsycINFO,Web of Science,Ovid and MEDLINE databases.Thirteen articles were selected and analyzed using thematic syntheses.Results:From 2522 screened abstracts,84 texts were reviewed,and 13 studies met the inclusion criteria.Mothers’challenges and experiences of children with CP include 4 themes,both positive and negative.Conclusions:The mothers of children with CP suffer from physical burden,as well as psychological pressure,in the care experience;social and healthcare support are their main challenges.Interventions to help them face the difficulties and adapt to the role of caregivers as soon as possible should target multiple aspects in order to maximize effectiveness,to promote the healthy growth of children with CP.

Relationship of Mothers’ Food Preferences and Attitudes with Children’s Preferences

Because early childhood is the most important time for establishing eating habits, controlling the likes and dislikes of children is significant. This study investigated the relationship between mothers’ food preferences as well as their attitudes toward food and their children’s preferences. A questionnaire was answered by 244 mothers of children aged 3-5 years who attended a private kindergarten in Japan. The mothers were asked questions relating to their own current food preferences and those during their childhoods, their eating and cooking habits, and the likes and dislikes of their children. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to assess the relative importance of mothers’ preferences and habits for their children’s likes and dislikes. The children’s preferences were significantly related to their mothers’ likes and dislikes during childhood, rather than to their current preferences, and to the children’s breakfast times during holidays and the frequency with which the mothers used takeout meals. This suggests that mothers’ likes and dislikes during childhood and their food habits affect their children’s preferences. Therefore, to improve children’s food preferences, mothers may need to improve their food habits and consider their own food preferences during childhood.

Assessment of Mothers’ Oral Health Knowledge: Towards Oral Health Promotion for Infants and Children

Aim: To assess the knowledge and oral health practices of a selected population of mothers in order to develop appropriate oral health promotion program for children in the area. Method: A cross sectional study was carried out among a convenient sample of mothers who attended two well-baby clinics—a tertiary and a primary health care centre in Lagos, Nigeria. A questionnaire requesting personal information, previous exposure to and source of oral health education (OHE), knowledge of oral health, diet and oral hygiene practices was administered. Results: There were 104 participants, aged 21 - 46 years (mean 32.01 ± 4.85 years);58.7% had received OHE, 23.1% from electronic media, 22.1% dentist and 9.6%, doctor or nurse. Only 44 (42.3%) had attended the dentist, 5 (4.8%) in <1 year and 10 (9.6%) within 1 - 2 years. Most younger mothers, compared with older mothers had knowledge of fluoride (x2 = 8.51, p = 0.014). Only 44 (42.3%) and 20 (19.2%) respectively believed the type of baby food and supplement affect the child’s teeth. Conclusion: Participants in this study showed inadequate knowledge of preventive oral health care. Regular OHE is recommended for mothers at the well baby and immunization clinics where they can be easily reached by health professionals.

A Qualitative Study on the Negative Emotions of Mothers during Chemotherapy of Their Children with Malignant Brain Tumors

Objective: To explore the negative emotions of mothers during chemotherapy of their children with malignant brain tumors. Methods: The phenomenological method for qualitative studies was adopted;convenience sampling was used to conduct semi-structured interviews to the mothers of 9 children with malignant brain tumors who received chemotherapy from June 2019 to December 2019;the Colaizzi 7-step analytical method was implemented to collate and analyze the original data. Results: The results were summarized into six subjects: stressed, exhausted because of trying to control everything in home care, prone to excessive care, financially burdened, desperate for knowledge of patient care, and desperate for psychosocial support. Conclusions: Understanding the real experiences and inner feelings of mothers during chemotherapy of their children with malignant brain tumors is helpful for medical staff to learn about the psychological distress and needs of mothers of children with malignant brain tumors, so as to give them psychological support and even social support, and help the mothers and the families of children with malignant brain tumors get through a special period.

Factors Affecting Maternal Coping in Korean Mothers of Children with Cancer

Background: The childhood cancer is increasing throughout the world. The incidence of children and adolescent (1 - 19 years old) mortality by cancer was 4.49 by 2006 (Korea Statistics, 2014). Mothers of children experienced a difficult situation in coping when their children were diagnosed with cancer. Based on Mishel’s Uncertainty in Illness Theory, maternal uncertainty and perceived social support are important factors that may have an impact on maternal coping in mothers of children with cancer. Therefore, it was worth to investigate this phenomenon in the context of Korea where no such study was conducted. Objective: To identify the factors affecting maternal coping in mothers of children with cancer. Methods: The study was conducted by using a descriptive design. This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board, Yonsei Health System, Severance Hospital, Seoul, Korea and informed consent forms were obtained from the participants. Fifty-nine mothers completed three questionnaires: 1) Parent’s Perception of Uncertainty Scale, 2) Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, and 3) Coping Health Inventory for Parents. The internal consistency of these instruments was satisfactory, all with alpha coefficients over 0.86. Results: Hierarchical multiple regression analysis revealed that perceived social support and maternal uncertainty together explained 35% of the variance in the maternal coping in mothers of children with cancer (R2 = 0.353, F = 15.255, p = 0.000). Perceived social support and maternal uncertainty had an impact on maternal coping. Conclusions: The findings provided information that could be used in a further intervention study to increase maternal coping in mothers of children with cancer.

Factors Influencing Routine Vaccination of Children of Mothers Live-Stock Retailers in the Markets of Yaoundé

Background: The job of mothers though having a positive impact on the family could be detrimental to children’s health due to her unavailability. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was carried out from March to August 2014. Mothers of children aged 11 - 48 months were interviewed to determine factors which could influence the vaccination of their children. Results: A total of 265 mothers were interviewed. Despite their occupations, they completely vaccinated all of their children. The vaccination coverage of tracer antigens (third dose of DPT/HiB/HepB) was high 97.7% as well as the proportion of children completely vaccinated (91.7%). A mastery of the vaccination calendar of the site, and resumption of activities when the children were more than 4 months old, significantly influenced the completion of vaccination. Only 6 children (2.3%) were not correctly or incompletely vaccinated. The reason given by their mothers were: the lack of time (45.0%), the adverse effects of vaccines (27.0%), forgetfulness (18%), and shortage of vaccines supplies (5.0%). Conclusions: Occupation was not a hindrance to the vaccination of children of live-stock retailers. The problem of absent or incomplete vaccination could be overcome by improving the strategies of social mobilisation, permitting the sensitisation of mothers hesitant to vaccinate their children. A regular supply of vaccines will reduce the missed opportunities, thus maintaining high vaccination coverage in this social group.

Exploring the Lives of Mothers Raising Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Japan

Background: Examining the lives that mothers experience and build will allow us to deepen our understanding of children with ASD and their mothers and facilitate developing support methods. The study aimed to examine the lives of mothers raising children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and investigate their sources of support. Method: We conducted a qualitative inductive study using semi-structured interviews to identify characteristics of the lives that mothers have created. Results: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 mothers having children with ASD. The analysis comprised three stages of coding and yielded eight categories. The lives of these mothers contained three themes: preoccupation with parenting children with ASD and their siblings;evolving mother;and using social resources. Mothers engaged in “assessing the characteristics, growth, and changes in the child with ASD”, had a “preoccupation with parenting children with ASD”, and were “thinking about the future of the child with ASD”, and “having goals and plans for parenting” while having “consideration toward the child’s siblings”. During this process, mothers experienced “changes in perspective or approach” and created lifestyles while “receiving help from people around them” and engaged in the “use of social resources”. Conclusions: To avoid becoming preoccupied with parenting and being burdened by their lifestyle, mothers require social support to monitor their perceptions. Furthermore, the utilization of social resources requires the supporting individuals to understand the characteristics of children with ASD, provide appropriate information, and assist in decision-making.

Cardiac changes in infants of diabetic mothers

Diabetes mellitus(DM)is a systemic chronic metabolic disorder characterized by increased insulin resistance and/orβ-cell defects.It affects all ages from the foetal life,neonates,childhood to late adulthood.Gestational diabetes is a critical risk factor for congenital heart diseases(CHDs).Moreover,the risk increases with low maternal education,high body mass index at conception,undiagnosed pregestational diabetes,inadequate antenatal care,improper diabetes control,and maternal smoking during pregnancy.Maternal DM significantly affects the foetal heart and foetal-placental circulation in both structure and function.Cardiac defects,myocardial hypertrophy are three times more prevalent in infants of diabetic mothers(IDMs).Antenatal evaluation of the cardiac function and structures can be performed with foetal electrocardiography and echocardiography.Postnatal cardiac evaluation can be performed with natal and postnatal electrocardiography and echocardiography,detection of early atherosclerotic changes by measuring aortic intima-media thickness,and retinal vascular changes by retinal photography.Ameliorating the effects of diabetes during pregnancy on the offspring depends mainly on pregestational and gestational diabetes prevention.However,other measures to reduce the risk,such as using medications,nutritional supplements,or probiotics,still need more research.This review discusses the mechanism of foetal sequels and the risk factors that increase the prevalence of CHDs in gestational DM,the various cardiac outcomes of gestational DM on the foetus and offspring,cardiac evaluation of foetuses and IDMs,and how to alleviate the consequences of gestational DM on the offspring.

The Influence of Individual Determinants on Adherence to Feeding Guidelines for Infants Born to HIV Positive Mothers in Rakai District

Introduction: In Uganda, Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) was first reported at Kasensero landing site in Rakai district, in the South Western region in 1982. The district has continued to experience high HIV rates at 12% compared to the national average of 7.3% with relatively higher vertical transmission rates. Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the individual determinants of adherence to feeding guidelines for infants born to HIV positive mothers in Rakai District, Uganda. Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional study design was used with a sample size of 138 respondents and employing quantitative method of enquiry. A non-probability sampling strategy called consecutive sampling was used to sample the mothers with HIV. Data were analyzed using SPSS to generate descriptive and bivariate analysis data. Results: Individual determinants found to have a statistically significant influence to feeding guidelines for infants born to mothers living with HIV were: Age (X2 = 45.967, P-value = 0.000), Number of children (X2 = 93.069, P-value = 0.000), Number of children given birth to since diagnosis (X2 = 18.604, P-value = 0.000), income per month (X2 = 50.477, P-value = 0.000), ever had breast complication (X2 = 15.039, P-value = 0.000), disclosure of HIV status (X2 = 10.740, P-value = 0.001), quantity of breast milk produced (X2 = 10.637, P-value = 0.0005) and whether mothers attended antenatal care services (X2 = 38.613, P-value = 0.000). Conclusion: Age, Number of Children, Number of Children given birth to since diagnosis, breast complications, disclosure of HIV status, quantity of breast milk produced and utilization of antenatal care services were found to have an association with the adherence to feeding guidelines among HIV positive mother and this was statistically significant. Recommendation: General improvement of socio-economic status of the mothers should be done and be given priority so that in turn it will enable the women to adequately focus on maintaining optimum and the health of their children.

Mother’s Nutritional Knowledge and Practice towards Children under Two Years of Age and Its Impact on Their Health in Abuzaid Albuluk Pediatric Specialized Hospital in 2023

Background: Nutritional knowledge and practise is an important measure to improve dietary habits and food choices. The daily food should contain balanced nutrition as needed to support optimal growth, avoid deficiency diseases and prevent the diseases which might interfere with the children health. Materials & Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional non-interventional hospital-based study was carried out among 122 mothers and 122 children by using a non-probability convenience sampling technique in the period of 15 March to 15 April 2023, and using interviews with structural questionnaires, the data was analyzed using SPSS version 26. Results: We found that most of the children had moderate health, while most of the mothers had moderate nutritional knowledge and practise towards their children, also we found that the relationship between mothers’ knowledge and practise and child health was significant (P Conclusion: Mothers’ knowledge and practise among children was moderate and children had moderate health. Wrong beliefs and cultural taboos play major roles in decreasing knowledge and practise.

Mothers Experience about Complementary Feeding Practice in Bangladesh

Background: Complementary feeding is a significant milestone that has nutritional, developmental, and health implications. Worldwide, 33% of the deaths are linked to malnutrition. Objective: To describe the mothers’ experience about complementary feeding practice with child aged less than two years in Bangladesh. Method: A descriptive qualitative study was conducted from July 2018 to June 2019. This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) NIANER. 20 mothers of children of 6 - 24 months of age were recruited purposively who live in Sattalla slum. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the mothers’ demographic characteristics and thematic analysis was used to describe mothers’ experience about complementary feeding practice. Results: The study showed that the average age of the mothers was 25 (SD = 4.75) years. Only 5% of the mothers have higher education. Through the findings, two main themes have been identified. Moreover, first main theme includes three subthemes. Fifty percent of the mothers stated that appropriate time to start complementary food for their babies is from 6 months of age. Mothers feed various types of complementary foods. Most of the mothers have knowledge about complementary feeding but they do not practice appropriately. Almost all of the mothers (95%) stated that their babies do not like to eat anything, and 45% of mothers feed only breast milk. Conclusion: Findings of the study will provide information for the nurses resulted in increasing the rate of complementary feeding practice among mothers of children in Bangladesh. Future study is needed to identify the factors influencing complementary feeding practice among mothers of 6 - 24 months old children in Bangladesh.

Effect of mother’s knowledge on posteducation toward rehospitalization of young children with pneumonia

Objective:The rehospitalization rate of children<5 years old with pneumonia is still high.The risk of hospitalization becomes higher in mothers with low knowledge of their child’s disease.The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of post-health-education maternal knowledge in cases of rehospitalization and to determine the differences in rehospitalization rate based on the type of health education media.Methods:This study is a quasi-experiment.Health education was given to both groups:one group received education through audiovisual media and the other group through leaflet media.The level of post-health-education knowledge was measured on the third day,then followed up until the 30th day after the patient was discharged from the hospital.Results:Post-health-education knowledge significantly reduced the cases of rehospitalization in both groups.However,the rehospitalization rate in the audiovisual group was lower than in the leaflet group(P=0.047,odds ratio=5.870).Conclusions:Post-health-education knowledge is effective in reducing the risk of rehospitalization,and health education using audiovisual media is more effective,compared to health education using leaflets,in reducing the cases of rehospitalization in children<5 years of age with pneumonia.

Mother-to-Child HIV Transmission Factors in Exposed Children at University Hospital Center of Treichville (Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire)

Background: The elimination of HIV transmission from mother to child is currently possible. Cote d’Ivoire, which has a 4.6% HIV prevalence among women, is one of 22 pilot countries for the elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV. Since 2015, Cote d’Ivoire has adopted new strategies according to the WHO B+ guidelines. Objective: To identify factors associated with mother-to-child HIV transmission in children born of seropositive mothers managed at Treichville university hospital. Material and methods: A case-control study was conducted in the obstetrics department at Treichville university hospital, between January 2013 and December 2015. It involved children born to mothers infected with HIV, whose first PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) result was available during this period. A standardized questionnaire on data related to exposed children and their mother was used. Factors associated with mother-to-child HIV transmission were investigated using logistic regression. Results: A total of 214 HIV-exposed children were included in the study with a sex ratio of 0.9. The majority of the children were born by vaginal route (52.8%) and received post-exposure prophylaxis (88.3%) and replacement feed (51.9%). Their mothers received antiretroviral therapy during pregnancy in 45.3% of the cases. The first PCR was performed at the sixth week of life in 52.3% of cases. The prevalence of HIV infection in exposed children was 7.5% (95% CI = 4.5% - 11.8%). In multivariate analysis, the absence of antiretroviral prophylaxis in children [aOR = 4.3, 95% (1.2 to 15.6), p = 0.03], the mixed feed [aOR = 3.8, 95% (1.1 - 13.1), p < 0.03], the failure to take antiretroviral regimen during pregnancy [aOR = 8.0, 95% CI (1.9 - 32.4), p < 0.003], were associated with mother-child HIV transmission. Conclusion: The mother-to-child HIV transmission rate remains high in our practice. Strategies to reduce situations that do not comply with current recommendations should be considered to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission.

A Mother and Her Fourteen Children

I wish to be the grass, greening the spring days; I wish to be a fountain, moistening the dry land; I wish to be a spring breeze, wann- ing people in cold; I wish to be a ladder, helping chil- dren make progress. --Excerpts from Wang Ying＇s Diary

How parents' education and working status affect the nutrition and immunization status of preschool children in India

Objective:The aim of the paper is to see how educational and working status of the parents affect the nutritional and immunization status of preschool children in India.Methods:We have used data of more than 24 000 preschool children spread over different states in India.The data were collected by National Family Health Survey(NFHS-2) in 1998-99.For assessing the nutritional status,only the Z-scores of weight-forheight (WHZ) have been computed and for immunization status,it has been seen whether BCG,DPT3,Polio3 and measles have been administered.Children who fall below -2SD(-3SD) from median are considered to be moderately(severely) malnourished.Results:According to the NFHS-2 data,70%of children are vaccinated by BCG,50%receive the full course of DPT,54%get all the three dozes of polio and only 42%are protected from measles by vaccination in India.The percentages of moderately and severely wasted children in India are 12.1 and 2.8,respectively.There is a marked regional variation of these percentages.Bivariate and multivariate analysis clearly points to the need of educational status of mothers rather than fathers for proper nutritional and immunization status of preschool children.Parents’occupation and working status also have some effect,but not so pronounced as parents’education.Conclusion:The Indian preschool children need particular attention for high risk of wasting and low immunization.The prevalence of malnutrition can be arrested more by improving the mother’s education level rather than their fathers and by raising the standard of living of their house-holds.

Associations between Mother’s BMI, Fruit and Vegetable Intake and Availability, and Child’s Body Shape as Reported by Women Responding to an Annual Survey

Previous evidence indicates that a child’s body mass index (BMI) and eating behaviors are often related to the BMI and eating behaviors of his/her parents. Additionally, there is evidence suggesting that fruit and vegetable intake may impart weight control benefits. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between mother’s BMI and the intake/availability of fruits and vegetables in the home, as well as mother’s perceived body shape of her child. This is a cross sectional, descriptive analysis of results from a large internet-based survey of Generation X and Y mothers evaluating the role of fruit and vegetable consumption and health behaviors in US families. Mothers (n = 1469) with children under the age of 18 living in the home reported her BMI, her fruit and vegetable intake, and fruit and vegetable availability in the home. Additionally, mothers with children between the ages of 2 and 12 (n = 1177) reported her child’s body shape (using graduated images of children ranging from the 3rd - 97th percentiles of BMI). Mother’s BMI was not related to fruit or vegetable intake, though it was inversely related to fruit, but not vegetable, availability in the home. Mother’s BMI was also positively related to child’s body shape, and mother’s fruit, but not vegetable, intake was inversely related to child’s body shape. Our findings support a potential role for fruit availability promoting healthy BMI in mothers and/or healthier body shape in their children.

Vitamin A Status in the Mother-Child Couple at the University Teaching Hospital of Angondje in Gabon

Introduction: Vitamin A deficiency is responsible for severe disorders, and sometimes irreversible consequences in children. We aimed to evaluate the Vitamin A status of newborns in Gabon. Method: prospective study from August to December 2017 at the maternity of the University Teaching Hospital of Angondje (Gabon). We included at random mother-child pairs. A nutritional inquiry on Vitamin A was ran in the selected parturient. We performed the measurement of serum retinol booth in mother and child according to standardized and strict criteria, in Gabon and in France. World Health Organization defines Vitamin A deficiency by serum retinol .7 μmol/L. Results: We included 75 mother-child couples. The mean age of the mothers was 25.7 ± 7 years, 89.3% of neonates were an age gestational ≥ 36 weeks, and 10.7% were premature. Mango was the most commonly used source of Vitamin A and 27% of women consumed more than 3 times a week. The mean serum retinol of the mothers was 0.87 μmol/L ± 0.35 extremes [0.22 μmol/L - 1.79 μmol/L], the mean serum retinol of the newborns was 0.92 μmol/L ± 0.30 extremes [0.24 μmol/l - 1.84 μmol/L].Vitamin A deficiency was observed in 23.3% (n = 25;CI 95% [22.1% - 25.8%]) of mothers and 20% (n = 15;CI 95% [18.2% - 22%]) newborns. There was a weak correlation between the serum retinol of mothers and serum retinol of newborns (r = 0, 17). Conclusion: The prevalence of Vitamin A deficiency is quite important in neonates of our investigation, and justifies a systematic supplementation.

Barriers of Asthma Care among Asthmatic Children in Saudi Arabia: Maternal Perspectives

Background Bronchial asthma is one of the most common chronic conditions among children. Despite the improvement in asthma treatment regimens, its prevalence and related morbidity are increasing, especially among underserved, minority children. There are barriers in the management of asthma, which may impact the quality of outcomes. The goal of this study is to explore these barriers. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted on interview data collected through 2019 from mothers of children (aged 6 - 12 years) with asthma visiting, for convenience, a public shopping mall. The interviewees were randomly selected, because they met the inclusion criteria. Participants were considered if the mother answered “yes” to the following questions: Has your child had physician-diagnosed asthma? Is your child currently taking asthma medications of asthma? Two community nurses conducted the interviews. Data was obtained using administrative questionnaires. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 21.0 (IBM Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). Descriptive statistics of percentage, mean, frequency and standard deviation were applied for categorical and continuous variables. Results Three hundred mothers participated in this study. Their average age was 36.8 years, 55% were housekeepers by profession, and 34% had obtained less than high school education. The majority of children (61%) were males, 45% had moderate asthma, and 42% had mild asthma. The most frequent types of barriers identified by parents were environmental factors (67.7%), followed by health care providers (63%), the health care system (48%), and patient or family characteristics (43%). Mothers were specifically concerned about the use, safety, and long-term complications of medications, the impact of exercise limitation on their child’s quality of life, and their own quality of life. Conclusion This study showed several barriers against asthma care in Saudi Arabia, which mainly related to environmental or personal characteristics. This highlights the need to enhance current policies within the health care system in Saudi Arabia to overcome these barriers.