brand logo

Awareness needed of feeding practices’ impact on early child development: Local study

18 Jan 2022

  • Researchers note deficiencies in the practical aspects of knowledge transmission to rural areas 
BY Ruwan Laknath Jayakody  Attention should be drawn towards key childcare practices such as food preparation, storage, and proper feeding, as such is directly correlated to the growth and development of children.  This concern was raised in a letter to the editors of the Anuradhapura Medical Journal on the subject of “Are mothers of pre-school children aware about early childhood care and development (ECCD)?” which was authored by R. Randika (attached to the Rajarata University’s Medicine and Allied Sciences Faculty), S.U. Sendanayaka, G.T. Rathnayake and J. Warnasekara (the latter trio attached to the same faculty’s Community Medicine Department), which was published in the Anuradhapura Medical Journal 15 (2) in December 2021. Focusing on early childhood development and early brain development is an investment, in particular, for low and middle income countries (per J. Jeong, H.D. Pitchik and A.K. Yousafzai’s “Stimulation interventions and parenting in low and middle income countries: A meta analysis” and L.M. Richter, B. Daelmans, J. Lombardi, J. Heymann, F.L. Boo, J.R. Behrman, C. Lu, J.E. Lucas, R. Perez-Escamilla, T. Dua, Z.A. Bhutta, K. Stenberg, P. Gertler, G.L. Darmstadt, the Paper Three Working Group and the Lancet Early Childhood Development Series Steering Committee’s “Investing in the foundation of sustainable development: Pathways to scale up for early childhood development”).  Deficiencies of early childhood care influence the child’s survival, growth, and development and these changes, as noted by T. Gilley, C. Tayler, F. Niklas and D. Cloney’s “Too late and not enough for some children: early childhood education and care programme usage patterns in the years before school in Australia”, could be irreversible during later life. Therefore, empowering the public with knowledge and skills in early childhood care is a major public health strategy (as per the “Integration of parenting and nutrition interventions in a community health programme in Pakistan: An implementation evaluation” by A.K. Yousafzai, M.A. Rasheed and S. Siyal). Despite the low level of practical knowledge and public interest in ECCD, it has improved rapidly during recent years (M.M. Black, S.P. Walker, L.C.H. Fernald, C.T. Andersen, A.M. DiGirolamo, C. Lu, D.C. McCoy, G. Fink, Y.R. Shawar, J. Shiffman, A.E. Devercelli, Q.T. Wodon, E. Vargas-Barón, S. Grantham-McGregor and the Lancet Early Childhood Development Series Steering Committee’s “Early childhood development coming of age: Science through the life course” and T.C. Agampodi, N.K. Dharmasoma, I.S. Koralagedara, T. Dissanayaka, J. Warnasekara, S.B. Agampodi and R. Perez-Escamilla’s “Barriers for early initiation and exclusive breastfeeding up to six months in predominantly rural Sri Lanka: A need to strengthen policy implementation”).  As noted by Randika et al. although health promotion programmes are conducted at the central level, it is questionable as to whether the beneficial effects of these programmes penetrate sufficiently to the rural areas.  Hence, Randika et al. conducted a descriptive cross sectional study among 152 randomly selected mothers who have pre-school children in the Jayanthipura village in the Polonnaruwa District of the North Central Province in order to determine the knowledge regarding the concept of ECCD and its practical issues. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect the data. Although all the participants had heard about ECCD, the majority (90 – 59.2%) accepted that they had inadequate practical knowledge on ECCD, including its advantages and practices for brain development.  The most common source of information regarding ECCD was the public health midwife (PHMs – 128 - 84.2%), followed by maternal and child health clinics (112 – 73.7%), neighbours or relatives (84 – 55.3%), and the media (11 – 7.2%). Of all the mothers, the majority (147 – 96.7%) knew that the concept of ECCD was mentioned in the Child Health Development Record. However, only 97 (63.8%) knew the exact period of ECCD to be from conception to five years, while only 95 (62.5%) of the subjects knew that 80% of the brain network is developed by the time a child reaches three years of age. More than 80% of the mothers considered mental growth (140 – 92.1%) and intelligence in thought (129 – 84.9%) as the only known advantages of ECCD while other advantages included the ability to argue (114 – 75%), the capability to communicate (104 – 68.4%) and the ability to connect with others (100 – 65.8%). Many practises, per Agampodi et al. influence the development of the brain, including day-to-day practises such as proper feeding and food preparation. Nevertheless, satisfactory awareness was observed only regarding the way of affording the stimulation for brain development (127 – 83.6%). In contrast, the awareness is highly inadequate on simple daily practises such as caring for pregnant and lactating mothers (77 – 50.7%), proper food preparation and storage (60 – 39.5%), and proper feeding (67 – 44.1%).  Randika et al. explained that the findings of this study reflect the deficiencies of the practical aspects of knowledge transmission to rural areas. Therefore, they observed that further studies are essential in order to ascertain the exact reasons for these deficiencies and to evaluate the best modes of knowledge dissemination, particularly to the communities that are in need. Improving the knowledge regarding the ECCD concept and its importance is essential, they further mention, in order to establish behavioural changes which are necessary in order to promote ECCD.  As the role of the PHMs, medical officers of health (MOHs), and medical personnel in obstetric and paediatric care provision is unique with regard to the promotion of ECCD in the community, any deficiencies related to each level of care provider must also be researched, Randika et al. added. It has to therefore be considered that practical activities are essential as the skill development of the caregiver is, per K. Burger’s “How does early childhood care and education affect cognitive development? An international review of the effects of early interventions for children from different social backgrounds”, the basis of the psycho social development of children.  Randika et al. hence concluded that it is high time for Sri Lanka to focus on improving the standards of child development.


More News..