Background: The discontinuation of "Mother-Baby Friendly" accreditation, coupled with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, has contributed to reduced breastfeeding rates observed in parts of South Africa. Consequently, the Child, Youth and School Health cluster of the National Department of Health, with support from the World Health Organization and United Nations Children's Fund, organised a Mother-Baby Friendly initiative revitalisation workshop.
Methods: Held in Johannesburg, South Africa, on June 29-30, 2022, the workshop brought together local and international breastfeeding promotion experts to engage on issues related to the revitalisation of the Mother-Baby Friendly Initiative.
Despite improvements in childhood undernutrition through integrated nutritional programs in South Africa, stunting among children remains persistent, and is attributed to poor socio-demographic status. This context has been implicated in disrupting mothers' decisions regarding effective infant feeding, ultimately meaning that children's nutritional demands remain unmet. In view of this, we conducted a cross-sectional study to determine the association between socio-demographic factors and infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices and stunting among children under two years receiving primary health care in informal settlements in Gauteng, South Africa.
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