title: Household food security and infant feeding practices in rural Bangladesh.
abstract: To determine the association between household food security and infant complementary feeding practices in rural Bangladesh.
  
  
  
  Prospective, cohort study using structured home interviews during pregnancy and 3 and 9 months after delivery. We used two indicators of household food security at 3-months' follow-up: maternal Food Composition Score (FCS), calculated via the World Food Programme method, and an HHFS index created from an eleven-item food security questionnaire. Infant feeding practices were characterized using WHO definitions.
  
  
  
  Two rural sub-districts of Kishoreganj, Bangladesh.
  
  
  
  Mother-child dyads (n 2073) who completed the 9-months' follow-up.
  
  
  
  Complementary feeding was initiated at age ≤4 months for 7 %, at 5-6 months for 49 % and at ≥7 months for 44 % of infants. Based on 24 h dietary recall, 98 % of infants were still breast-feeding at age 9 months, and 16 % received ≥4 food groups and ≥4 meals (minimally acceptable diet) in addition to breast milk. Mothers' diet was more diverse than infants'. The odds of receiving a minimally acceptable diet for infants living in most food-secure households were three times those for infants living in least food-secure households (adjusted OR=3·0; 95 % CI 2·1, 4·3). Socio-economic status, maternal age, literacy, parity and infant sex were not associated with infant diet.
  
  
  
  HHFS and maternal FCS were significant predictors of subsequent infant feeding practices. Nevertheless, even the more food-secure households had poor infant diet. Interventions aimed at improving infant nutritional status need to focus on both complementary food provision and education.
authors.affiliation: 1Department of Epidemiology,Rollins School of Public Health and Laney Graduate School,Emory University,Atlanta,GA,USA.
authors.forename: Aatekah
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-9148-843X
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Owais
authors.affiliation: 2Department of Epidemiology,Emory University,Atlanta,GA,USA.
authors.forename: David G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Kleinbaum
authors.affiliation: 3Hubert Department of Global Health,Emory University,Rollins School of Public Health,1518 Clifton Road NE,Room 7007,Atlanta,GA 30322,USA.
authors.forename: Parminder S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Suchdev
authors.affiliation: 4International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research,Bangladesh (icddr,b),Dhaka,Bangladesh.
authors.forename: Asg
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Faruque
authors.affiliation: 4International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research,Bangladesh (icddr,b),Dhaka,Bangladesh.
authors.forename: Sumon K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Das
authors.affiliation: 5Los Angeles County Department of Public Health,Los Angeles,CA,USA.
authors.forename: Benjamin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Schwartz
authors.affiliation: 2Department of Epidemiology,Emory University,Atlanta,GA,USA.
authors.forename: Aryeh D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Stein
mesh_terms: D001459:Bangladesh; D001942:Breast Feeding; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D005523:Food Supply; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007225:Infant Food; D007227:Infant Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D009035:Mothers; D011247:Pregnancy; D011446:Prospective Studies
keywords: Household food securityMaternal diet; Infant feeding practices; Rural Bangladesh