INFANT WEANING KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICES AMONG MOTHERS IN ILORIN EAST LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA KWARA STATE.

ABSTRACT Weaning is the introduction of supplementary food to a child's diet after the first six months of life. Early introduction of feeds and incorrect weaning practices are commonly found in communities around the world. This research was designed to explore infant weaning knowledge and practices among mothers. Descriptive research design was adopted. The population were 260 mothers attending Okelele Primary Healthcare centre in Ilorin East Local Government. Sample size was determined using Leslie Kish formula and simple random sampling was adopted to select 100 mothers for the study. A designed questionnaire was used to collect data from participants. Face and content validity of the questionnaire was ascertained by presenting it to experts in the field. Reliability was tested using split-half method and Cronbach alpha reliability coefficient was 0.85. Data was processed using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 21. Two research questions were answered using descriptive statistics of mean standard deviation. Four hypotheses were tested using inferential statistics of Pearson correlation at 0.05 level of significance. The study revealed that 8(8%) of mothers had low knowledge level on infant weaning, 50(50%) had moderate knowledge level and 42(42%) had high knowledge level. Also, 3(3%) of mothers had high practice level on infant weaning, 66(66%) had moderate practice level and 31(31%) had low practice level on infant weaning. There is a significant relationship between occupation and weaning practices among mothers ( r = 0.035 p = 0.004 ) There is also a significant relationship between educational level and weaning practices among mothers ( r = 0.003 , p = 0 ) whereas there is no significant relationship between ethnicity and infant weaning practices among mothers underline lr = 0.036 , p = 0.723 ) and there is a significant relationship between mothers knowledge level and infant weaning practices among mothers ( r = 0.086 ; p = 0.001 ) In conclusion, infant weaning knowledge and practices among mothers is moderate. The study recommended that nurses should regularly train mothers on infant weaning to improve their knowledge and practice regarding infant weaning. Keywords: Weaning, Mother, Knowledge, Practice, Infants Word Count: 333