Royal Army of Oman

Armed Forces Medical Services School

Child health nursing

SDLA

Three strategies to promote infant nutritional health

Submitted by: Aysha rashed alqutaiti

Service No: D4-19918

GROUP: MND9

Date:

Submitted to: Ms. Eman Abu Amagd

Introduction

The age group from birth to one year is known as infant age. In that time period,
Parents are supposed to give proper time to the care of their children in order to
assure their health. The way of taking care of children vary from parents to parents.
Some parents promote good nutrition; whereas the other parents take their children
to hospitals or health centers for vaccinations etc. There are multiple methods to
promote healthy nutrition. Among them, breast feeding is considered as healthy
one. Breast Milk contains healthy nutrition, i.e. it has vitamins, Proteins, and Fat.
And, all these things are vital for Children’s Health. Furthermore, Breast feeding
also carries antibodies which can help the baby counter infections and Microbes.
(Germano Rodrigues Couto, 2020)

“The baby grows quickly during its first year of life. Providing Proteins and
calories intake in abundance to the baby can be beneficial and it is necessary also.
But, these proteins should be served in limit or as advised. In order to prevent the
baby from overweight, the calorie level should cautiously be reduced from 120
calories per Kilogram to estimated 100 calories per Kilogram”

In this assignment, I will be elaborating some workable ways of promoting

nutritional health for an infant. These ways are very viable in practical life. If these
methods are followed as described, the infants can get adequate nutrition which
would be helpful in their health and growth.

Establishment of healthy eating pattern

Encouraging healthy eating habit development early in life is a way to prevent the
onset of diet-related diseases.

For some new parents, the healthy eating habits would be fundamental. But for
children, there are no specific healthy and nutritious diets which the parents should
follow to feed their children. The parents must not follow the same routine strictly
for their children. By same routine, it can be implied that the feeding methods for
children should be changed with the course of time. For example, an infant solely
depends on breast milk or formula milk, when he is below 5 months. But, when he
grows, he needs something extra other than milk. In most cases, the parents start
feeding their children the cerelac, honey, fruit or vegetable, when they become 5
months of age. There is no denying that these approaches can be practiced but not
for all children.

Mostly, an infant eats when it is hungry. So, there is no need to force the infant for
eating. In case, the infant refuses to eat, it is the responsibility of a mother to notice
what type of food or what amount of food is being offered to the infant for eating.
For more satisfaction, 24 hours dietary recall history can be used to figure out why
the infant refuses to eat. Maybe, the child eats at its best but not to the expectation
of parents and that the parents assume their child is eating les.

The second habit that the parents should know is the way of feeding. If infant
intake is less than the requirements and that the child denies eating, it means there
is feeding disorder. Most Parents start feeding their infant with spoons and it
becomes regular and the infant eats with spoon just because he is hungry. But
when the infant is not that much hungry, try to feed the infant with its hands or its
parents hands. Hence, the infant will enjoy the food much.

Thirdly, some children have special and intense temperament. This temperament
shows that even though the child is hungry, it will not eat much because the child
cannot tolerate the frustration of spoon feeding.

Moreover, when the children get tired or overstimulated, the children will surely
refuse to eat. For solution of this problem, it is better to offer a quiet and peaceful
environment which could encourage them to rest and eat. Lastly, it should be kept
in mind that the parents or care givers should not force the children to eat because
it causes regurgitation. Whenever a child feels like it is hungry, it will
automatically eat and when a child is fed forcefully, it starts vomiting. For a more
satisfactory treatment, it is better to visit primary care provider to get the check-up
of the infant whether that infant has any sort of disease or health problem.

Weaning

The process of introducing appropriate food for children besides breast milk is
known as Weaning. At the right time, weaning is started in order to provide
required nutrition to the baby. Through weaning, the infants can gain rapid muscles
and other tissues as well. (Suhag, M. A. H., & Akter, M. 2020).

The ideal time period for a mother is to feed her child breast milk for at least 6
months. And if it is convenient for a mother to feed her child for a year, she should
continue. When an infant is between 6 and 9 months of age, the infant reduces the
intensity of sucking reflex. During that time, the mother should start weaning
through the bottle. “Appropriate weaning should be timely, adequately, safely and
properly fed.” (Suhag, M. A. H., & Akter, M. 2020).

For the healthy normal birth weight infant born in an industrialized country, this
research supports the benefit of exclusive breast milk feeding until 4–6 months.
Evidence of harm through introducing solid food to these infants earlier than this is
weak. Infants should be managed individually according to their needs. (K D
Foote1, 2003)

At the time of starting weaning, the parents are liable to choose one feeding in a
day and then start offering fluid through different ways during feeding. The infants
should be given at least 3 or 7 days to be familiar with that food. Such solid foods
as cereal mixed with breast milk or orange juice will be quite advantageous for
reducing the risk of iron deficiency anemia. Sometimes, children face allergic
issues related to rice products. So, for this, some fruits like raw mashed banana
which are easily eaten are offered. The children can also be given cooked
vegetable prepared especially in blender with no salt or sugar just because the
infants can face the problem of not digesting fat until they become one year old.

Provided that the infant has fallen a prey to any infection or disease i.e. Upper
respiratory infection (URI), teething discomfort or diarrhea, weaning should not be
started solely because it harms the health of an infant badly. In this regard, the
parents should take great care of the children.

Self- feeding
The infants usually take great interest in doing small chores and tasks by
themselves like playing with toys, enjoying with same-age babies or feeding
themselves with spoons etc. At the age of 6 months, when the infants can hardly
control finger movements, they enjoy a lot in feeding themselves by fingers. It is
the sole responsibility of the parents to indulge their children in practicing self-
feeding by putting tablecloth for catching the dropped food.

At times, the children get tired of attempting to eat by themselves. Then, the
parents should help, regardless of blaming or criticizing them. When the food is
served before the child and that child starts playing with it or not doing hurry in
eating the food. It simply means that the child is not hungry and that the food
should be served later on or when demanded by the child. One main thing to be
noticed is that the food which is served to child for self-feeding must be soft and
easy to eat. If the items placed before the child will be soft and cut in small pieces,
it will be easy for the child to eat and the child is going to enjoy it very much.
Some soft items include fruits or vegetables i.e. bananas, mangoes sweet potatoes
or eggs etc. There is great importance of self-feeding, like self-worth in child
increase, the child develops the sense of pride, and mainly the children can be self-
controlled easily.

Conclusion

The infant age starts from birth till one year of life and this span of time marks
rapid growth. The growth of child depends on some factors. Among various
factors, one of the main factors is nutrition. If the nutrition is healthy enough, then
the growth of the child will surely be rapid and healthy. In this matter, the onus of
parents is to take proper care of the nutrition of the infants. The healthy nutrition
starts from breast feeding. Breast feeding contains all powerful proteins or
vitamins which help the child be healthy. Gradually, as the infant grows, he should
be fed with strict rules. Rather, the parents should follow a prescribed nutritious
schedule for their infant and also follow the instructions given. If the food refusal
in child gets strong day by day, the methods provided above should be followed.
More, the child should be taught self-feeding. Self-feeding strategies should be
implemented on the children as soon as possible for the better growth of the
children. When the child becomes ill, weaning should be reduced and amount of
food and liquid should be increased. To conclude, the better nutrition leads to
better development of the child. .

Evidence-Based Practice/ PICO format

Title of the article: Young Children Feeding Practices: An Update from the
Sultanate of Oman

Database searched: Google scholar

Key words: Breast feeding; Infant; Children under two

population 318 households of Muscat’s governorate were selected for

analysis. Inclusion criteria for households were that had at least
one Omani citizen, had two children under two years of age and
 especially whose mothers were available in households to answer
the questionnaire.

Interventio Field workers were trained on data collection and performed field
testing. Interviews evaluated children’s BF practices, diet
n
diversity, use of fortified foods and the mothers’ educational level
and marital status as well as the household income. Mothers were
also asked about infants’ consumption of liquid.

comparison Compare between early initiation of breast feeding which started

within one hour of birth to predominant breast feeding which is
used as a main source of feeding.
outcome The results showed that exclusive and predominant Breast feeding
were provided to 29 and 42% of infants at six months,
respectively. The majority (79%) and half (51%) of breastfed
infants continued to receive breastmilk at one and two years,
respectively. Moreover, 10–16% of infants received herbal
infusions, thin porridge, or soups. A small percentage of infants
consumed cow’s yogurt, milk, or juices.
Summary of the study:

The purpose of carrying out this study was to provide insight into the feeding
practices of children under two years of age and their association with mothers and
household variables in the Sultanate of Oman. Results revealed that exclusive
Breast Feeding rate was low, whereas early Breast feeding was high. Compared to
the 2009 national survey, this study showed that exclusive BF at six months and
age appropriate BF improved markedly from 16 to 29% and from 8 to 58%,
respectively. (Salima Al Maamari, 2021)This improvement is likely a result of the
educational campaigns and training that targeted women of reproductive age and
health care providers.

This study showed that Omani mothers head off to a good start with 84%
providing breastmilk within an hour of birth, achieving the 2030 global target rate
of BF of 70% set by the UNICEF and WHO and exceeding the mean rate of
middle and low income countries in the Middle East and Europe. (Salima Al
Maamari, 2021) The success of early BF may be attributed to the availability of
Baby Friendly hospitals across the country that were accredited as part of the
global Breast Feeding Hospital Initiative (BFHI) launched in 1990

Implication in the practice

To self:

I, as a responsible mother, now know and understand the benefits of breast feeding
and how much is it important for a new born baby. I am going to incline myself
more towards breast feeding for my next baby, if I plan to have a one. In addition
to it, there are benefits for me also and these benefits include weight loss, reducing
the chances of ovarian and breast cancer.

To friends:

For all my friends, I would suggest to them that they, as a mother, should breast
feed their children. Breast feeding will help their children become strong and
immunized. I will explain to them the benefits of breast feeding.

To society:

The women of Oman should be informed about the importance of breast feeding.
The women should be encouraged to breast feed because it not only benefits the
children but also is very helpful for the mothers. Educational efforts must be taken
in order to promote better nutrition and breast feeding for children. It is time for
The Omani Women Association and other national organizations to play a pivotal
role in promoting this sort of education among the Omani Women. Live sessions
on social media platforms should be organized and educated women should be
engaged in organizing such sessions in their areas. It is much better and of utmost
importance to share awareness about healthy nutrition.

References

Al-Mamari TM, Al-Ghafri MS, AlWahaibi MS, Ambusaidi SA, Hassan HS. Breast
Feeding and Bottle (formula) Feeding Habits among Omani Babies. Madridge J
Nurs. 2017; 2(2): 81-86.
Nadeem, A., Nadeem, J., Sarwar, M. H., & Sarwar, M. (2017). Making the
decision to breastfeed the baby and its advantages for the women’s
health’. American Journal of Food Science and Health, 3(5), 88-94. Retrieve from
https://www.blowoutmedical.com/pdf/DecisiontoBreastfeed.pdf
Germano Rodrigues Couto, V. D. (2020). Benefits of exclusive breastfeeding: An
integrative review. Nursing Practice Today.

Pillitteri, A. (2014). Maternal & Child Health Nursing: Care of the Childbearing &
childrearing family (7th edition). Lippincott: Philadelphia. Chapter: 28 pp-830-
833.
Suhag, M. A. H., & Akter, M. (2020). Mothers’ Knowledge, Attitude and Practice
about Infant Feeding and Weaning Food in Sylhet: An Empirical Study. Saudi
Journal of Nursing and Health Care ISSN 2616-7921

Salima Al Maamari, S. A. (2021). Young Children Feeding Practices: An Update

from the Sultanate of Oman. Children.