KIẾN THỨC VÀ THỰC HÀNH NUÔI DƯỠNG CỦA BÀ MẸ CÓ CON DƯỚI 6 THÁNG TUỔI BỊ TIÊU CHẢY KÉO DÀI DAI DẲNG TẠI BỆNH VIỆN NHI TRUNG ƯƠNG

Abstract

Persistent diarrhea is one of the leading causes of malnutrition and death in children under 6 months of age. Lack of mothers' knowledge and proper feeding practices usually results in poor use of available information on preventing and managing persistent childhood diarrhea. Aim: To assess the mother’s knowledge and feeding practices regarding persistent diarrhea in under 6 month children at the National Children’s Hospital. Materials and methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out from September 2025 to March 2026. Data was collected by a questionnaire-based interview, and 108 mothers were included in this study. Results: The mean age of the mothers was 30.2 ± 4.8 years. The rates of mother with high education and working for state company were only 35%% and 32.4%, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference between rate of proper knowledge and feeding practice focusing breast milk and giving extra food when children had diarrhea. The prevalence of mothers practicing changing lactose-free milk (29.4%), having an extra-meal (21.6%) when children had diarrhea was higher than knowledge (11.8% and 10.8%), p<0.05. The rates of mothers whose knew that it was needed to take the child to see a doctor immediately (91.7%), and use oresol solution (26.9%) was higher (76.9% and 9.3% respectively), while choosing proper fluid (34.2%), and antibiotics (38.9%) when children hade diarrhea was lower than the practice (61.6% and 56.5%, respectively), p<0.05. The percentage of mothers who know that persistent diarrhea causes malnutrition and dehydration leading to death was 49.1% and 25%, respectively. The rates of mothers got proper knowledge and practice of caring for children when suffering from diarrhea was less than 50% and there was no statistically significant difference between knowledge and practice. Conclusions: Significant numbers of mothers had inadequate knowledge and unfavorable feeding practices about persistent diarrhea in under 6 month children. Designing and implementing an inclusive health education intervention focusing on uneducated child mothers may be beneficial for improving knowledge and practice towards reducing the incidence of persistent childhood diarrhea.