Relationship between maternal and infant nutritional status

Relationship between maternal anthropometry, age, parity, education, work status, and food practices and nutritional status of children 0-6 months post-partum was determined using a cross-sectional design in a univariate situation. Whereas mothers' weight, height, weight for height, and months of lactation were significantly related to the weight for age of the infants, only weight, height, and work status seemed to affect their height for age. In the second stage where stepwise multiple regression analyses were done, maternal height, months of lactation, and weight for height in that order showed a significant relationship (R² =0.08) with infants weight for age while mothers' height and working status were the only two factors that affected the height for age of the infants (R² =0.04). The findings suggest that there exists a significant relationship between maternal and child anthropometry.