Study population and sampling procedures
This study was conducted between December 2016 and October 2017 as part
of a larger qualitative longitudinal study that aimed to explore actual
breastfeeding and complementary feeding practices as well as the factors
that impede the WHO recommended practices from birth to one year of a
child’s life. The study details have been published elsewhere [15,
16].
Briefly, pregnant women in their last trimester of pregnancy who came
for prenatal care at 2 governmental health centers, Buramba and Rutobwe,
from Muhanga district were contacted. They were approached by trained
research assistants who provided detailed description of the study and
those who agreed to participate signed the informed consents.
Recruitment ceased after enrolling 39 women who came first as data
saturation had been reached. The inclusion criteria for the study
were:1) being pregnant in the last trimester with no serious obstetrical
condition, 2) planning to give birth in the local health center and
reside in the area within the first 12 months of child’s life 3) and
willing to be observed during 3 child feeding occasions that are at 6, 9
and 12 months postpartum). The present study focus on a purposive sample
of 29 mothers who completed the follow-up from birth to one year of
child’s life and whose data was available for both the interviews and
mealtime observations.