Paternal perspectives towards infant and young child feeding (IYCF): a qualitative analysis from Coastal South India.

BACKGROUND: The infant and young child feeding practices (IYCF) decide child growth and well-being. Paternal perspectives and involvement in IYCF are of paramount importance and are grossly under-studied.

AIMS: To study the experiences and opinions of fathers of infants and young children towards feeding practices.

SETTINGS AND DESIGN: Two focus group discussions (FGD) were carried out in the community settings in Dakshina Kannada District, Karnataka State.

METHODS AND MATERIAL: FGDs were carried out in the areas of two selected primary health centres. FGD guide was used and the discussions were audio recorded. Themes were derived from the transcript.

RESULTS: Four main themes were generated from the transcripts of two FGDs. Lack of time to involve in child feeding, lack of felt need for increased involvement, sense of being complete in providing paternal care and readiness to learn were the generated themes. All participating fathers had favourable attitudes towards learning more about IYCF.

CONCLUSIONS: Lack of time felt need for higher paternal involvement in IYCF and sense of being complete in providing paternal care were the themes extracted, along with favourable attitude towards increasing their involvement in IYCF.