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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Glob. Womens Health
Sec. Maternal Health
Volume 5 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fgwh.2024.1440606
This article is part of the Research Topic Therapeutic Interventions in Pregnancy to Promote Maternal and Child Health View all articles

Undernutrition and associated factors among lactating mothers in Chiro district, eastern Ethiopia: a community-based cross-sectional study

Provisionally accepted
Mesfin Fekadu Mesfin Fekadu 1Gudina Egata Gudina Egata 2Bezatu Mengestie Bezatu Mengestie 2Hassen A. Adem Hassen A. Adem 2Ahmedin A. Usso Ahmedin A. Usso 3*
  • 1 Oromia Regional Health Bureau, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
  • 2 School of Public Health, College of Health and Medical Sciences, Haramaya University, Harar, Ethiopia
  • 3 School of Nursing and Midwifery, College of Health and Medical Sciences, Haramaya University, Harar, Ethiopia

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: Maternal undernutrition during lactation is a worldwide public health problem. It causes impaired cognitive ability, poor productivity, irreversible loss, and intergenerational malnutrition, which has harmful effects on the next generation. Overall, there is little information on undernutrition and risk factors among lactating mothers, especially in resource-poor settings, including Ethiopia. This study assessed undernutrition and associated factors among lactating mothers in rural Chiro district, eastern Ethiopia. Method: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 629 lactating mothers in the Chiro district from July 2–30, 2019. Data were collected from participants using pretested, structured questionnaires and anthropometric measurements. Data were entered using EpiData version 3.1 and analyzed using SPSS version 27. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to identify factors associated with undernutrition. Results: Undernutrition among lactating mothers was 26.9% (95% CI: 23.2%, 30.2%). Female-headed household (AOR=0.34, 95% CI:0.13, 0.94), medium (AOR=0.58, 95% CI: 0.38, 0.95) and rich (AOR=0.30, 95% CI: 0.18, 0.51) wealth quintiles, lack of dietary advice (AOR=1.62, 95% CI: 1.10, 2.39), chewing khat (AOR=1.82, 95% CI: 1.23, 2.70), low dietary diversity (AOR=3.10, 95% CI: 1.82, 5.29), and household food insecurity (AOR=3.67, 95% CI:1.47, 9.20) were factors significantly associated with undernutrition. Conclusions: Around one in every four lactating mothers in rural eastern Ethiopia had undernutrition. Poor wealth, lack of dietary feeding advice, substance use disorder, low minimum dietary diversity, and household food insecurity were factors significantly associated with the undernutrition of lactating mothers. Thus, focusing on implementing existing strategies/programs for effective nutritional interventions and poverty alleviation that enhance food security status would be essential to improving the nutritional status of lactating mothers and children.

    Keywords: Malnutrition, undernutrition, Risk factors, Lactating mothers, Ethiopia

    Received: 29 May 2024; Accepted: 27 Aug 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Fekadu, Egata, Mengestie, Adem and Usso. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Ahmedin A. Usso, School of Nursing and Midwifery, College of Health and Medical Sciences, Haramaya University, Harar, Ethiopia

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