Factors Associated with Malnutrition among Lactating Women in Subsistence Farming Households from Dedo and Seqa-Chekorsa Districts, Jimma Zone, 2014

Background: Nutritional status of women is particularly important, because it is through women and their offspring that the pernicious effects of malnutrition are propagated to future generations. The extra calories and nutrients required to support breastfeeding makes lactating mothers among groups with special nutritional needs. Nevertheless, many African lactating mothers, including Ethiopians, remained to be undernourished and there is scarcity of studies both nationally and in the study locality.Objectives: This study was aimed to assess factors associated with malnutrition among lactating mothers living in Home-based food production and child centered counseling project Kebeles in Dedo and Seqa-Chekorsa districts of Jimma zone, south-west Ethiopia from Feb. 3 to March 2, 2014.Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Feb. 3 to March 2, 2014 on 355 lactating mothers who were beneficiaries of the Home-based food production and child centered counseling project. Demographic characteristics and nutritional risk factors were assessed through structured interview, whereas anthropometry measurements were done to assess nutritional status. Data was entered using Epi-data version 1.4.4.0 and exported to SPSS version 20 for analysis. Percentages, means and standard deviations were used to describe the study population. Logistic regression was used to identify the predictors of underweight among the explanatory variables. Result: The mean and standard deviation of dietary diversity score of study participants was 4.9 and 1.9 respectively. Majority of study participants consumed cereals in the preceding 24 hour of data collection. 92% of study participants didn’t consume additional meal other than common family meal. 40.6% of lactating mothers were underweight. Maternal dietary diversity score was identified as predictor of undernutrition.Conclusion: Feeding practice of study participants was poor while undernutrition was high among participants so that Home-based food production and child centered counseling project, woreda health offices, health extension workers and other responsible sectors have to give due attention to improve the situation.