Maternal autonomy but not social support is a predictor of child feeding indicators in the Northern Region, Ghana

BACKGROUND: Child malnutrition may be mediated by poor infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices. This study sought to explore if maternal social support or autonomy was related to IYCF indicators in Northern Region, Ghana. METHODS: An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted with 395 randomly sampled mother–child pairs from 8 health facilities. Data were collected on socio-demographic characteristics, social support and autonomy statuses of mothers, and dietary intake and anthropometry of children. Maternal social support and autonomy statuses were derived and classified into tertiles and IYCF and child growth indicators were derived based on WHO protocol. Logistic regression analysis was used to explore the association of maternal social support and autonomy statuses to IYCF indicators and child nutritional status. RESULTS: The mean age of the women was 27 (± 5.10) years and most belonged to the lowest tertile of social support (52.4%), and autonomy (44.1%). About half of the children, 53.2% and 44.6%, received Minimum Dietary Diversity (MDD) and Minimum Acceptable Diet (MAD) respectively but the majority (72.9%) received Minimum Meal Frequency (MMF). About a fifth of the children, 21.0%, 24.1%, and 20.5%, were wasted, stunted, and underweight respectively. Maternal autonomy was associated with IYCF but not growth indicators of young children. Compared to children of mothers of richest autonomy tertile, children of women of middle autonomy tertile were 67% less likely to receive MDD [Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR): 0.33; 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 0.18–0.59], and 56% less likely to receive MAD (AOR: 0.44; 95% CI: 0.24–0.77). Also, children belonging to mothers of poorest autonomy tertile were 56% less likely to receive MMF compared to children of richest maternal autonomy tertile (AOR: 0.44; 95% CI: 0.23–0.84). CONCLUSION: Maternal autonomy and not social support is associated with IYCF indicators of children in Northern Ghana; child survival programmes should incorporate or strengthen women empowerment interventions to improve child nutrition. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40795-022-00630-8.