Maternal mental distress is associated with child feeding practices and anthropometry in Vietnam

We assessed associations between maternal mental distress (MD), infant and young child feeding practices (IYCFP) and child anthropometry among children 0–5y in Vietnam, using data from a survey in 4 provinces in 2010 (n=4647). Maternal MD was measured by the 20 item Self Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ20); anthropometry by height‐for‐age, weight‐for‐age and weight‐for‐height z‐scores (HAZ, WAZ, WHZ); IYCFP by World Health Organization IYCF indicators. Random effects regression models, adjusting for confounders at child, maternal and household level were used to test associations between MD and anthropometry, and bivariate analyses for associations between MD and IYCFP. Prevalence of stunting (17.5%), underweight (13.8%) and wasting (5%) was low; nearly 33% of mothers had high MD scores. High maternal MD was associated with worse child anthropometry (HAZ lower by 0.09 (NS); WAZ by 0.14 (p<0.05); WHZ by 0.13 (p<0.05)). Among children<2 y, high MD mothers had poorer IYCFP, i.e. less likely to initiate BF early and feed children recommended number of times. Maternal distress is associated with poor anthropometric outcomes among children at 5 years of age in this Vietnamese population, where food insecurity, poverty and overall undernutrition rates are low. Poorer IYCFP among high MD mothers suggest that child feeding practices may mediate this association. Funding: Alive and Thrive, managed by AED‐ARTS.