Feeding Difficulties in Children with Failure to Thrive (FTT): awareness of Characteristics of FTT in Urban & Rural Mothers / Female Caregivers

Abstract

Failure to thrive (FTT) is a medical conditionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Failure_to_thrive - cite_note-0 which may also affect the development of communication skills in children. The study aimed to investigate the awareness level of diagnostic and rehabilitation facilities of children with FTT among the mothers/ female caregivers of their children. Two questionnaires were prepared and administered on 14 urban and 17 rural mothers/ female caregivers of children with FTT. Analysis of their responses revealed that the rural and urban mothers/ female caregivers seemed to be aware of those features in FTT which were more overt/ easily noticeable. A significant result obtained was that only one mother was aware of the term FTT. It is concluded that awareness of FTT management in both urban and rural mothers/ female caregivers is lacking significantly. The rural mothers/ female caregivers need to be sensitized on issues related to feeding as this can lead to inadequate nutrition and therefore FTT. This should be included as a routine part of the newborn screening program.