Maternal and paternal involvement in complementary feeding in Kaduna State, Nigeria

The continuum of gender roles in urban and rural settings

Bibliographic Data

ID15535591
AuthorsDiana Allotey (0000-0003-1432-4703, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, corresponding author), Valerie L Flax (0000-0003-0200-3355, RTI International), Abiodun Ipadeola (Datametrics Associates Limited Abuja Nigeria), Sarah Kwasu (Kaduna State University), Margaret E Bentley (0000-0002-1220-0208, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill), Beamlak Worku (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill), Keerti Kalluru (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill), Carmina G Valle (0000-0003-1985-2409, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill), Sujata Bose (0000-0003-3049-9538, Thrive), Stephanie L Martin (0000-0002-0378-802X, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)
Year2022
Volume18
Issue2
Pagese13325-e13325
Publication date2022-01-25
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueMaternal and Child Nutrition (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1740-8695 • E-ISSN: 1740-8709
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/mcn.13325
PMID35080111
OpenAlexW4210750024
LanguageEN
Citations received11
References cited49

Household gender roles influence infant and young child feeding behaviours and may contribute to suboptimal complementary feeding practices through inequitable household decision-making, intra-household food allocation and limited paternal support for resources and caregiving. In Igabi local government area of Kaduna State, Nigeria, the Alive & Thrive (A&T) initiative implemented an intervention to improve complementary feeding practices through father engagement. This study describes household gender roles among A&T participants and how they influence maternal and paternal involvement in complementary feeding. We conducted 16 focus group discussions with mothers and fathers of children aged 6-23 months in urban and rural administrative wards and analysed them using qualitative thematic analysis methods. Most mothers and fathers have traditional roles with fathers as 'providers' and 'supervisors' and mothers as 'caregivers'. Traditional normative roles of fathers limit their involvement in 'hands-on' activities, which support feeding and caring for children. Less traditional normative roles, whereby some mothers contributed to the provision of resources and some fathers contributed to caregiving, were also described by some participants and were more salient in the urban wards. In the rural wards, more fathers expressed resistance to fathers playing less traditional roles. Fathers who participated in caregiving tasks reported respect from their children, strong family relationships and had healthy home environments. Our research findings point to the need for more context-specific approaches that address prevalent gender normative roles in complementary feeding in a variety of settings

Context (archaeology · Developmental psychology · Focus group · Geography · Government (linguistics · Intervention (counseling · Normative · Qualitative research · Sociology · Thematic analysis · Child Nutrition and Feeding Issues · Child Nutrition and Water Access · Medicine · Nursing · Poverty, Education, and Child Welfare · Psychology

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Open DOIOpen Access