Factors associated with Malnutrition among children admitted to Mwanamugimu nutrition unit, Mulago Hospital.
Abstract
Malnutrition generally implies under nutrition and refers to all deviations from adequate and
optimal nutrition status in infants, children and adults. In children, malnutrition manifests as
underweight and stunting (short stature) and severely undernourished children present with
symptoms and signs that characterize conditions known as kwashiorkor, marasmus and
marasmic-kwashiokor. Malnutrition threatens to destroy a generation of children in Uganda.
More than 2.4 million are stunted and the damage caused by stunting is irreversible. Half of the
children under five and a quarter of women of child bearing age are anemic. Whether poor or
wealthy, children are malnourished for similar reasons.
Women tend to get pregnant when young and have low birth weight babies which predisposes
children to malnutrition. Repeated childhood infections such as diarrhea and low breastfeeding
rates also lead to wasting and stunting. This study was aimed at determining factors associated
with healthy mothers with malnourished children admitted at Mwanamugimu nutrition unit,
Mulago hospital.
Out of 63 children who took part in the study, 55.56% were males and 44.44% were females.
Most of the children (60.32%) were not exclusively breastfed for the first six months of their
life, and only 39.68% had been breastfed exclusively for the first six months. 53.97% of the
children were taken care of by their single mothers, 25.40% had just a care taker (grandmother,
sister, aunt) and 23.81 had their married mothers.
Over 38% of the children came from families with more than seven members, 49.21 % had 4
to 7 members and only 12.7% had families with less than 4 household members.
Most of the mothers/caretakers attained only primary education of none (70%), 23.81 had
attained up to secondary level and only 4.76% had attained tertiary education.
Most of the mothers/ caretakers (41.27%) were unemployed or had lost their employment after
the admission of their child, 34.92% were street vendors, hawkers or daily earners (informally
employed), 17.46% were subsistent farmers (peasants) and only 6.35% were civil servants.