| dc.description.abstract | Child Health Development Record (CHDR) is a
document which records growth and development
details of a child from birth to adolescence. It is
a tool which makes parents actively participate
in and develop a greater understanding of their
child’s growth. Growth charts in CHDR are
important in monitoring the growth of children.
In the current CHDR, growth charts are color
coded for easy parental understanding and
interpretation. There are separate charts for
weight, length/height and head circumference
for boys and girls. In children, weight is the most
common measured indicator for assessment
of growth. Hence, accurate understanding of
the weight for age chart and growth patterns is
necessary for parents to understand the child’s
growth and detect problems early. The objective
was to assess knowledge and understanding of
the weight for age chart and growth patterns in
CHDR among mothers of infants in Piliyandala
MOH area. A descriptive cross-sectional study
was conducted at seven randomly selected child
welfare clinics in Piliyandala MOH area. Study
population comprised of mothers of infants over
6 months. A pre-tested interviewer administered
questionnaire and a series of marked and
unmarked weight for age charts were used as
tools. Out of the total number of mothers (n=189)
interviewed, approximately half (52.4%) (n=99)
had average knowledge and 14.3% (n=27) of
mothers had poor knowledge on weight for age
chart in CHDR. Nearly half the population (46.6%)
identified the colour zones of the weight for age
chart in CHDR correctly. Two thirds (67.7%) of
mothers identified growth patterns parallel to the
median line as healthy growth. However, only
21.2% identified weight gain of a low birth weight
baby parallel to the median but at the -2SD line
as an acceptable growth pattern in weight for age
chart. About 1/3 of mothers misinterpreted rapid
weight gain of a low-birth weight as a healthy
pattern. Majority of mothers had satisfactory
knowledge and understanding of the weight for
age chart in CHDR. However, their interpretation
was not optimal with a preference for upward
moving growth patterns indicating their desire
for a “fat” baby rather than a “thin” baby. | en_US |
