Current status of malnutrition in children under 5 years old and some related factors in underweight malnourished children in Hau Giang province in 2019 - 2020

Abstract

Malnutrition associated with a deficiency in protein is an important and popular problem among children in Viet Nam, and the prevalence of malnutrition in Hau Giang province is still high. A cross-sectional descriptive study on 1,400 mothers and their children under 5 years old to determine the malnutrition percentage and describe some related factors in underweight malnourished children in Hau Giang province conducted from September 2019 to July 2020, by a set of prepared questions and measuring tools.The study included 1400 children (51.1% was boy and 48,5% was girl). The percentage of children suffered from stunting was 15.9%, the figures of children with underweight and wasting were 8,4% and 7.3%, respectively. Mothers had weight gain during pregnancy from 10 kilograms and above had the prevalence of malnourished children lower than those who had weight gain during pregnancy under 10 kilograms (p < 0,05). Fully vaccinated children had a lower malnutrition percentage than nonfully vaccinated children (p < 0.001). The percentage of children had malnutrition in Hau Giang province was considerably quite high. It is necessary to strengthen proper pregnancy care and fully vaccinate children to improve child malnutrition for mothers.