Can mothers identify malnutrition in their children

In Bangladesh health workers interviewed 339 mothers and took anthropometric measurements from their 3-35 month old children at the Dhaka hospital of the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research Bangladesh the Dhaka Shishu Hospital and a community clinic 10 km northeast of Dhaka to determine mothers perception about malnutrition and their ability to recognize malnutrition in their children. Most mothers (67%) correctly recognized malnutrition (weight/age =or< 75% of NCHS median). They also tended to correctly recognize better nutritional status (60%). The better educated mothers did not do as well as less educated mothers at identifying better nutritional status (38% vs. 61%). Both groups did well at identifying malnutrition however (74% and 70% respectively). 95% of mothers knew correct means to improve their childrens health e.g. proper diet and treatment. These findings suggested that Bangladesh needs to achieve food security and assure availability of appropriate health care facilities to improve childrens nutritional status. Child health nutrition and food security programs should take into account the fact that mothers can indeed identify malnutrition in their children.