Utilization of Micronutrient Supplements in Mothers and Children to reduce Stunting in Peri Urban Lusaka

Abstract

According to UNICEF, Zambia has a high rate of stunting, which means that many children are not getting the best start in life. Stunting is now prevalent in 35 percent of Zambians (DHS 2018), down from 40 percent in 2014. This indicates that prior development was less than normal, which could be due to maternal nutrition. This study looked into how micronutrients can be used to reduce child underweight and the prevalence of stunting in children and mothers living in perilous areas of Lusaka. The association of iron and vitamin A supplementation and underweight in children less than 5 years in peri-urban Lusaka. The study employed cross-sectional descriptive research, the sample size of the study was 50 respondents, and this consisted of mothers and children under five years old of peri urban Lusaka. The research was a quantitative and the researcher used structured questionnaires to collect data from the respondents with 50 samples the study indicates that 37(74%) mothers had iron supplements whole pregnant while 26% did have iron supplements; The result for the level of vitamin A supplements in children under five out of the 50 children 42(84%) had been receiving vitamin A supplements and only 8(16%) of the children had not received vitamin A supplements. While on the association of iron supplementation in pregnant mothers and underweight in children, there was significant evidence that there was an association with a p-value of 0.001. and the association of vitamin A and underweight had a value of 0.131 which meant there was no significant evidence to claim there was an association between vitamin A supplements in children under five and underweight in children. In conclusion the study showed that 74% of the mothers in peri-urban Lusaka had iron supplementation intake which is the majority of the pregnant mothers had iron supplementation while pregnant which can help reduce stunting and underweight in children. In the infants and children below five years 84% had vitamin A supplementation which is very good because it shows that most children are less likely to suffer from vitamin A deficiency or underweight as a result of micronutrient However, the study showed that there was an association between maternal iron supplementation and infant nutritional status, hence the utilization of iron supplements can help reduce underweight and stunting in children. While the study, did not show any association between vitamin A supplementation and infant nutritional status this could have been because only Bauleni clinic was selected as the study site and not the whole peri-urban Lusaka hence further research is recommended. However, this study would rather be considered exploratory, which suggests a follow up study with sufficient sample size.