Prevalence of initiation of complementary feeding at 6 months of age and associated factors among mothers of children aged 6 to 24 months in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Table 3 Complementary feeding practices and attitudes of participating mothers

Variables	Categories	Frequency	Percent (%)
Initiation of complementary foods	At about 6 months of age	499	83.2
Initiation of complementary foods	Before or after 6 months of age	101	17
Reasons for initiation of complementary foods at 6 months of age	At this age breast milk is not enough to fulfill the energyrequirements of the child	310	52
	Belief child needs additional foods for growth at this time	248	41
	Belief the stomach of the child can easily digest food	40	7
Reasons for early initiation of complementary foods	Belief that breast milk alone is not enough for infants’ growth and development	66	11
	Not enough time to breast feed	36	6
	To strengthen the child	34	6
	To reduce maternal workload	33	6
Reasons for late initiation of complementary foods	Disease prevention	30	5
Reasons for late initiation of complementary foods	Exclusive breast feeding improves child-mother relationship and delays pregnancy	19	3
Kinds of commonly introduced foods	Soup	92	15
	Cow milk	265	44
	Porridge	182	30
	Water	145	24
	Fruits	110	18
	Others^a	174	29

ISSN: 2055-0928