FEEDING PRACTICES OF INFANTS, HEALTH AND NUTRITION CHALLENGES FACED BY ADOLESCENT MOTHERS

Abstract

Proper nutrition is critical in the first year of a child’s life for growth and development. Inadequate nutrition could lead to impaired physical and cognitive development and poor economic productivity (UNICEF, 2013). Poor maternal care practices, breastfeeding, complementary feeding status coupled with morbidity status are the proximate causes of malnutrition (Kimani-murage et al., 2015). This is a review on the status of adolescent motherhood, infant dietary practices, health status and infant nutritional status, among adolescent mothers in order to identify the gaps.