Exploring feeding practices in typically developing young children in three districts of Maharashtra: A preliminary survey

Purpose: The current study was designed to investigate and compare the feeding practices across three districts of Maharashtra and across maternal literacy levels. Materials and Methods: This study employed a cross-sectional survey. A survey tool was developed to assess the feeding practices, which included items related to the hierarchy of food types introduced to infants, their consistency, the age of introduction of various foods, utensils used, and position used to feed the infants. The survey tool was validated by experienced speech-language pathologists (SLPs). Ninety-five mothers of children in the age range of 1–3 years (30 mothers from each of the two districts—Nagpur, Sangli, and 35 participants from Mumbai) were included as participants. The participants of all the districts were also grouped based on their literacy levels. The survey tool was administered via online mode. Results: This study revealed that there were many differences in feeding practices across districts and literacy levels. Only the utensil used to provide complementary feeds, consistency of the food introduced after complementary feeds, and the position used to feed the foods of next consistency were similar across districts. Across literacy levels, only the consistency of complementary feeds, consistency of the food introduced after complementary feeds, position to feed the next consistency, utensil and position used to feed water were similar. All the other feeding practices varied across districts and literacy levels. Conclusion: It can be concluded that the geographical location of the districts across Maharashtra and maternal literacy levels influenced feeding practices. The findings of this study imply that the practicing SLPs should consider the variations in feeding practices that exist across districts during the assessment and intervention of young children with feeding issues.