THE EFFECTS OF TRAINING MOTHERS ABOUT COMPLEMENTARY FEEDING ON GROWTH INDICATORS OF INFANTS IN DEZFUL, IRAN

Background: Lack of awareness of mothers on the nutrition of infants' is a major cause of malnutrition. Therefore, this study attempted to investigate the effect of training mothers about complementary feeding on the growth indicators of 4 to 8 month-old infants in Dezful. Materials and Methods: This semi experimental enrolled 270 infants and their mothers from healthcare centers in Dezful, in 2015. The mothers were randomly assigned to intervention [n=135] and control [n=135] groups. Participants in the intervention group in three one-hour sessions received training programs on process of complementary feeding, familiarizing with growth and growth curves. The control group received none training programs. Anthropometric measures [body weight, height and head circumference] were assessed at baseline and after three months. Data were analyzed using paired and unpaired t-test with p≤0.05. Results: A percentage of 46.4% of mothers in the intervention group and 42.4% of mothers in the control group fall within the age range of 25 to 35 years. Similarly, loss to follow up was observed in the two studied groups [10 participants]. Compared with baseline, the body weight, height and head circumference increased more in the intervention group than in the control group, but changes were statistically significant for body weight and height [p≤0.05]. Conclusion: The findings of the current study suggest that training programs can result in an increase in body weight and height but not head circumference. Therefore, it is recommended that educational programs should be allocated in healthcare centers to increase growth indicators and improve the health of children. Keywords: Complementary feeding, growth indicators, infancy.