Nutritional status of children under two years and its associated factors in urban and rural areas of Jahrom in 2007-8

Introduction:Breastfeeding and complementary nutrition play an essential role in infant growth and development. The present study was conducted to investigate the nutritional status of children under two years of age in urban and rural areas of Jahrom.Material and Methods:This is a cross-sectional study on 435 infants aged 18-24 months residing in urban and rural areas of Jahrom. Study units were selected through convenient sampling. Data were collected with questionnaires and analyzed using descriptive and analytic statistics.Results:The mean age of infants in ours study was 20.86 ± 3.305 months. The mean age of exclusive breastfeeding was 5.49 ± 1.64 months, and the mean frequency of exclusive breastfeeding was 55.4%.In this study, 26.9% of infants used artificial (powdered) milk. The mean age of starting supplementary nutrition was 6.04 ± 0.956 months, and the mean age of continuation with breastfeeding up to two years was 18.58 ± 5.321 months.Conclusion:Our findings indicate a low rate of exclusive breastfeeding, with urban areas using twice as much artificial milk as rural areas. Considering the complications of this nutritional pattern, it appears that further educational interventions are required, particularly in urban areas, to inform mothers about the correct method of exclusive breastfeeding and its benefits.