Effect of Personalized Complementary Feeding Counseling Combined with Routine Child Health Care on Growth and Developmental Outcomes in Infants
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.61919/jhrr.v6i9.2047Keywords:
complementary feeding; infant nutrition; growth; child development; nutrition counseling; child health care.Abstract
Background: Appropriate complementary feeding during infancy is essential for physical growth and developmental progression. Generalized feeding advice may not adequately address differences in infant nutritional requirements, feeding practices, and caregiver circumstances. Objective: To evaluate the effect of personalized complementary feeding counseling combined with routine child health care on growth and developmental outcomes in infants. Methods: A prospective controlled interventional study included 46 infants attending Dimensions: Institute for Autism, Special Education, Physical Rehabilitation & Psychological Services, Lahore, Pakistan. The intervention group (n=23) received individualized complementary feeding counseling alongside routine child health care, whereas the control group (n=23) received routine care alone. Anthropometric measurements and developmental outcomes were assessed at baseline and follow-up. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics version 26.0, with baseline-adjusted comparisons where appropriate. Results: Mean weight increased by 1.29 kg in the intervention group compared with 0.79 kg in the control group. Adjusted between-group differences favored the intervention for weight (0.49 kg; 95% CI 0.18–0.80; p=0.003), recumbent length (1.43 cm; 95% CI 0.39–2.47; p=0.008), and head circumference (0.48 cm; 95% CI 0.09–0.87; p=0.017). Greater improvements were also observed across gross motor, fine motor, communication, cognitive, and personal-social developmental domains. The adjusted difference in total developmental score was 20.8 points (95% CI 11.4–30.2; p<0.001). Conclusion: Personalized complementary feeding counseling integrated into routine child health care was associated with more favorable anthropometric and developmental outcomes than routine care alone. Further controlled investigations are required to establish the reproducibility and longer-term clinical significance of these findings
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