Mother’s strategies in the feeding process of children aged 6 to 24 months in two rural communities of Lima, Peru

Abstract

Objectives. To know the strategies of mothers during the feeding process in children aged 6 to 24 months in two communities of Lima. Materials and methods. Qualitative study in which 18 primiparous or multiparous mothers of children aged 6-24 months participated. We used intentional sampling by age and parity of the mother, and conducted 36 direct observations and 12 in-depth interviews. Inductive data analysis was conducted, categories were grouped by subject and technique, reaching a consensus of the themes among the authors. Results. Verbal communication was markedly greater in multiparous mothers. Three major themes were found. Verbal mother-child communication, multiparous mothers were those who used affectionate words during the meal. Involvement and strategies in the feeding process was seen as characterized by encouraging the child to finish the meal with games and singing that multiparous mothers performed sometimes with help from other family members. However these results were not obtained by primiparous mothers, they usually became withdrawn upon the rejection of food. The context during eating favors whether a child will finish the meal. Conclusions. The strategies used during meal time were varied and biased, predominantly by multiparous mothers, acting in a more active and responsive way. However primiparous mothers may act in an authoritarian manner when the child gets dirty, plays and/or refuses food.