Characteristics of Households - Childinfo.org

Adequate complementary feeding of children from sixmonths to two years of age is particularly important forgrowth and development and the prevention of under-nutrition. Continued breastfeeding beyond six monthsshould be accompanied by consumption of nutritionallyadequate, safe, and appropriate complementary foodsthat help to meet nutritional requirements when breast-milk alone is no longer sufficient. For breastfed children,this requires two or more meals of solid, semi-solidor soft foods, if they are six to eight months old; andthree or more meals if they are 9–23 months of age. Forchildren 6–23 months and older who are not breastfed,four or more meals of solid, semi-solid or soft foods ormilk feeds are needed.Table NU.6: Introduction of solid, semi-solid or soft foods, Serbia, 2010Percentage of infants age 6–8 months who received solid, semi-solid or soft foods during the previous dayCurrently breastfeeding Currently not breastfeeding AllPercentreceiving solid,semi-solid orsoft foodsNumber ofchildren age6–8 monthsPercentreceiving solid,semi-solid orsoft foodsNumber ofchildren age6–8 monthsPercentreceiving solid,semi-solid orsoft foods 1Number ofchildren age6–8 monthsSexMale (91.4) 42 (92.9) 31 92.1 73Female (65.4) 34 (85.2) 49 77.1 82AreaUrban (89.1) 37 (86.4) 41 87.7 78Rural (71.2) 39 (90.1) 39 80.6 78Total 79.8 76 88.2 80 84.1 1561MICS indicator 2.12( ) Figures that are based on 25–49 unweighted casesOverall, 84 percent of infants aged 6–8 months receivedsolid, semi-solid, or soft foods (Table NU.6). Amongcurrently breastfeeding infants this proportion is 80percent while it is 94 percent among infants currentlynot breastfeeding.Table NU.7 presents the proportion of children aged6–23 months who received semi-solid or soft foodsthe minimum number of times or more during theprevious day, according to breastfeeding status (seethe note in Table NU.7 for a definition of minimumnumber of times for different age groups). Overall, themajority of children aged 6–23 months (84 percent)were receiving solid, semi-solid and soft foods theminimum number of times. Some 88 percent ofchildren in Southern and Eastern Serbia receiveminimum meal frequency compared with 78 percentof children from Belgrade.MONITORING THE SITUATION OF CHILDREN AND WOMEN 61