A study of malnutrition and associated risk factors among children of age 06-59 months in rural area of Jabalpur district, Madhya Pradesh

Background: “Malnutrition is a silent emergency”. Malnutrition is not only an important cause of childhood mortality and morbidity, but also leads to permanent impairment of both physical and mental growth of those who survive. Aims & Objectives: To determine the prevalence of malnutrition and association with various risk factors among children of age 06-59 months in rural area of Jabalpur district Madhya Pradesh. Material and Methods: Study was conducted among 517 children of age group 06-59 months in two randomly selected blocks of Jabalpur District. Multistage random sampling technique was used. Predesigned questionnaire was used to collect data and anthropometric measurements were done. Data analysis was done using Epi Info™ 7.1.5 and SPSS 20.0 (free trial version). Result: The prevalence of underweight, stunting and wasting were found to be 35.8%, 41.4% and 19.7% respectively while the prevalence of obese and overweight was 2.7% & 5.6% respectively. Children born with low birth weight, having higher birth order, more number of siblings, those with incomplete immunization status and inappropriate feeding practices were associated with malnutrition. Conclusion: The present study demonstrates the multiple risk factors for childhood malnutrition requiring multisectoral approach to fight against this silent killer.

Utilization of Antenatal services and concerning factors: A community based study

Background: Antenatal and post natal care are important component of maternal mortality rate. Antenatal facilities provided to mothers form the base of their future outcome. The services provided to mothers are still poor in India. A proper and effective program implementation is depending on understanding of basic factors that affect maternal and child health services utilization. Considering all these facts, it is important to study the maternal health service utilization pattern among the beneficiaries living in urban area of Jabalpur and factors responsible for their under utilization. Material & Methods: A prospective study was carried out in urban area of Jabalpur district of Madhya Pradesh. Cluster sampling technique was used to select 396 Antenatal females in the 36 different clusters. Information about socio demographic factors and ANC services utilization was recorded. Results: This study showed that 50.50% of women were registered within 12 weeks of pregnancy, 58.80% women received four or more antenatal visits, 23.99% women consumed hundred and more Iron Folic Acid (IFA) tablets and 96.21% received 2 doses of Tetanus Toxoid (TT) injections. Only 22.72% women had complete ANC service utilization. Conclusion: Utilization of Antenatal Care (ANC) services was poor in the urban areas of Jabalpur district even though the physical accessibility was adequate. ANC services utilization is significantly associated with level of education of mother, education of husband, occupation of mother, type of family and time of registration of pregnancy.