Introduction: The use of proper feeding
practices is key for the overall development of children. Generally,
breastfeeding and complementary feeding make up the diet and therefore the
nutritional status of children. However,the degree to
which mothers adhere to the recommendations of the World Health Organization
(WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) regarding breastfeeding
and complementary feeding is key to the nutritional status of children. Again, the
adherence to this dietary recommendation is contingent on the socio-economic conditions
of the child-bearing parents, especially the mothers. Here in this study, the socio-economic
characteristics were analyzed along with the feeding practices of children not more
than five years old in rural Sierra Leone. Method: Data were collected in
2017 on representative mothers with children within 0 - 5 years old. A total of 10 communities and 200 respondents
were randomly covered in the Kori Chiefdom of Moyamba District, Sierra Leone. The data collection instruments included structured
questionnaire, inter-personal interaction,
personal observation and experience. The collected data were analyzed in
Microsoft Excel and SPSS and the results presented in simple graphs. Results: A large number of the respondents were married teenage mothers with 1-2 children and living under extreme hardship by the United Nations (UN) standard.
Also, most of the mothers were illiterate and started breastfeeding their children
within the very hour of birth. Because
complementary feeding was started all too early, exclusive breastfeeding
last for not more than two months for most of the respondent mothers. Also, because
rice is by far the most widely eaten the staple food in Sierra Leone, complementary
food was mostly powdered rice mixed with salt and oil. Hardly was protein food supplement
used as complementary food, probably due to the economic conditions of the poor
rural women. Conclusion: The study has thrown sufficient light on the socio-economic
characteristics and adopted
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