Increasing appropriate complementary feeding in rural Uttar Pradesh: Implications for behavior change communication

The Government of India has recommended that complementary feeding for infants should be started at the age of 6 months. The three recommended infant and young child feeding practices for children aged 6-23 months include: continue breastfeeding; feed semi-solid/ solid food according to the age of the child; and feed a variety of foods such as cereals fruits vegetables and milk. It is recommended that children aged 6-8 months should be given complementary food twice a day while children aged 9-23 months should be fed complementary food three times a day. The amount of food given should be equivalent to 200 Kcal per day for children aged 6-8 months 300 Kcal per day for children aged 9-11 months and 550 Kcal per day for children aged 12-23 months. NFHS-3 data show that only 22 percent of children aged 6-23 months were given appropriate complementary food in rural Uttar Pradesh (UP). DLHS-3 data indicate that only 25 percent of children aged 6-23 months had started complementary food at the recommended age of 6 months.