Mothers' early feeding practices and the ecological factors that are associated with iron intake of 9-11 month old infants in Solana, Cagayan, Philippines : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Nutritional Science at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand

Appendix A several missing pages from the original copy held in the libraryThis study examines early infant feeding practices and the ecological factors that are associated with the diets of 9 - 11 month old infants. A face to face interview using a structured questionnaire was used to obtain the information from mothers of 120 infants in Solana, Cagayan, Philippines. Dietary information was obtained using a 24-hour dietary recall and a one week food diversity checklist. Ninety eight percent of the infants were breastfed but some mothers practiced early introduction of fluids and withholding nourishing foods from the infants. The infants' mean iron intake was found to be inadequate in terms of the RDA, indicating a high risk of iron deficiency. Meat, poultry, and fish were provided in small amounts to the infants and not on a daily basis. Iron fortified foods were also not a significant source of iron. It was found that the infants' food diversity was associated with the infants' iron intake, the higher the food diversity scores of the infants, the higher their iron intake. Factors associated with the infants' diet include maternal educational attainment, maternal attitude to variety of foods and child's sex and age. Attendance at nutrition education activities was not associated with higher iron intake of the infants. Although maternal attendance at bench conferences was associated with higher maternal nutrition knowledge, attendance at bench conference was associated with low iron intake among infants. There was not a clear association between family monthly income and the infants' diet. Maternal nutrition knowledge and the infants' food diversity were found to mediate the relationship between infants' iron intake and family and child's characteristics and nutrition education activities