Author
Adviser
Optimal Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) has been considered one of the most effective ways to improve child survival. In the Philippines, although national data is present on the status of IYCF, not enough data is available with regards to the IYCF situation of Indigenous Communities. The study was conducted to explore and evaluate the current status of Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) in a mixed tribal community of Mamanwas and Manobos in terms of Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices (KAP) and its interrelationship, as well as its association with their current sociodemographic conditions. A KAP survey questionnaire was adapted from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the correlations were explored using Spearman Correlation, Rank-Biserial Correlation, and Goodman and Kruskal’s Lambda as deemed appropriate. The results show that the IP mothers have low IYCF knowledge with mean knowledge scores of 3.75 (SD=0.5) and 4.6 (SD=1.3) for Infant Feeding and Complementary Feeding respectively and only 10 out of 21 mothers were able to attain a good knowledge level; a relatively better level of IYCF attitudes was identified but needed improvement in expressing and storing breastmilk, frequent feeding, giving diverse foods, and continuing breastfeeding; and a low level of IYCF practices was explored with 50% of IP mothers who are exclusively breastfeeding their infants. It has also been found that there are strong positive correlations between the IP mothers’ infant feeding attitudes and age (0.7746), parity (0.8165), and marital status (1.0000); a moderate association between Infant Feeding Practices and Knowledge (0.5000), and Infant Feeding Practices and Attitudes (0.5000); and a moderate association between education and IYCF knowledge (0.5574, 0.5072). An urgent need for nutrition education intervention for the IYCF knowledge and practices of the IP mothers was explored. With this, the employment and/or strengthening of nutrition education, especially of group counseling, is recommended and the promotion of and enhancement of access to education of the mothers.