Factors Affecting Complementary Feeding of Infants. A Pilot Study Conducted after the Introduction of New Infant Feeding Guidelines in Poland.

Adequate nutrition in the first year of life is the key prerequisite for a child's healthy growth and development. The success of complementary feeding is influenced by various factors, including the family's socioeconomic status, maternal age, place of residence and educational level, older children and duration of breastfeeding. Modified infant feeding guidelines were introduced in Poland in 2016. The aim of this study was to identify the factors that exert the greatest influence on infant feeding practices in the Polish population. A thorough understanding of maternal factors that are responsible for undesirable feeding practices is required to improve the mothers' knowledge and to promote healthy feeding practices. This study was carried out in March-June 2018 and between November 2018 and March 2019 in the Region of Lublin in southeastern Poland. The mothers of children aged 9-14 months, who had introduced complementary foods, were invited to the study. A total of 441 mothers agreed to participate, and 289 of them fully and correctly completed the questionnaires. Logistic regression models were developed to assess the association between maternal factors, such as age, educational level and the nutrition knowledge score, and introduction of solid foods. The infant's sex and birth weight and the mother's place of residence had no significant influence on the duration of breastfeeding. The mother's age and educational level, the number of children in the family and maternal nutrition knowledge scores contributed to significant differences in breastfeeding duration. Older mothers (30-34 years vs. 25-29 years,