Dietary Diversity Feeding Practice and Its Associated Factors among Infants and Young Children Aged between 6 and 23 Months in Birbir Town, Southern Ethiopia

A significant proportion of infant and young child mortality can be prevented by the provision of a diverse diet. Globally, an estimated 45% of deaths of children under the age of 5 are because of malnutrition. More than two-thirds of these deaths are associated with inappropriate child-feeding practices. This situation is the worst in Ethiopia. Thus, the objective of this study was to determine the status of dietary diversity and identify relevant variables. A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted with 335 randomly selected mothers/caregivers who had infants and young children aged between 6 and 23 months. Data were collected by interview with a structured questionnaire. The data were analyzed using SPSS Version 23. A multivariable logistic regression model was fitted to identify factors associated with dietary diversity practices and statistical significance was declared at p < 0.05. Only 12.6% (95% CI; 9.2, 16.6) of children aged 6 to 23 months had adequate dietary diversity. Having a backyard garden and primary education were associated with adequate dietary diversity practices. In this study, the status of adequate dietary diversity feeding practice is low. Therefore, interventions targeting dietary diversity should encourage households to have backyard gardens, and strengthening counseling of mothers/caregivers attending antenatal care and postnatal care is proposed for achieving adequate dietary diversity practices.