Complementary Feeding Practices and Associated Factors among Mothers of Children Aged 6 to 23 Months in Sub-Saharan African Countries: A Multilevel Analysis of the Recent Demographic and Health Survey

Introduction: Poor complementary feeding practices are one of the major causes of malnutrition during the first two years of life. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the prevalence and associated factors of appropriate complementary feeding practices among mothers of children aged 6 to 23 months. Methods: This study was carried out using demographic health survey data from 19 sub-Saharan African countries. A total of 60,266 mothers of children aged 6 to 23 months were included in the study. Multilevel logistic regression was used to determine the factors associated with complementary feeding practice. Variables with a p-value less than 0.05 were reported as statistically significant. Results: The prevalence of appropriate complementary feeding practices was 13.02%. Educational level, marital status, sex of household head, total children ever born, media exposure, ANC visit, place of delivery, currently breastfeeding, PNC checkup, age of the child, birth order, number of under 5 children, community illiteracy, and country category were significantly associated with appropriate complementary feeding practices. Conclusion: The prevalence of appropriate complementary feeding practices was relatively low. Women empowerment, increasing maternal health services accessibility, promoting breastfeeding behavior, increasing media exposure of the household, and improving the proportion of health facility delivery are strongly recommended. Keywords: Complementary feeding practices, young children, sub-Saharan Africa