Infant and Young Child Feeding Knowledge among Caregivers of Children Aged between 0 and 24 Months in Seshego Township, Limpopo Province, South Africa

Background: Appropriate infant and young child feeding (IYCF) involves the initiation of breastfeeding within an hour of delivery, exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months, introduction of complementary feeding at 6 months while continuing breastfeeding for 2 years or beyond. Adequate IYCF knowledge among caregivers is associated with improved practices, lowers risk of kids developing malnutrition, infection, morbidity, and mortality. Early introduction of solid foods, mixed feeding, inadequate breastfeeding, and complementary feeding are all prevalent in South Africa. These are related to caregivers' lack of IYCF knowledge. Hence, this study aims to determine the IYCF knowledge level of caregivers of children under 24 months in the semiurban Seshego Township, South Africa.

Methodology: Quantitative and cross-sectional design was applied. A total of 86 caregivers were selected using simple random sampling, which is representative of a target population of 110. Structured questionnaire was utilised to gather data, and analysed through statistical software, using descriptive and inferential statistics. Chi-square test was used to calculate associations at 95% confidence interval, where a p-value of < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results: Findings show that 67% of participants had good IYCF knowledge (a score of 81 to 100%) and there was a significant relationship between knowledge and education (p = 0.001). Moreover, 40.7% did not know that exclusive breastfeeding should be up to 6 months, and 90% mentioned that breastmilk protects the child against diseases. Most participants (82.6%) know that complementary feeding should be introduced at 6 months with continuation of breastfeeding.

Conclusions: Caregivers know that breastfeeding should begin immediately after birth, and that it protects against diseases. Moreover, they know that solid food should be introduced at 6 months. However, there is still a need to strengthen IYCF education, particularly on exclusive breastfeeding. Interventions to improve IYCF knowledge should be intertwined with improving educational and health literacy on breastfeeding and complementary feeding.