Copyright © 2024 by Author/s and Licensed by Kuey. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Educational Administration: Theory and Practice 2024, 30(5), 7742-7750 ISSN: 2148-2403 https://kuey.net/ Research Article Pilot Study On Assessing Breastfeeding And Complementary Feeding Knowledge And Practice Among Mothers Of Children Under 2 Years Old Aishath Shaheen Ismail 1 *, Sairah KA 2 , S. M. Ferdous Azam 3 1 *Research Development Office, The Maldives National University, Rahdhebaihingun, Male’, Maldives 2 Faculty of Health & Life Sciences, Management and Science University, University Drive, Off Persiaran Olahraga, 40100 Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia 3 School of Graduate Studies, Management and Science University, University Drive, Off Persiaran Olahraga, 40100 Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia *Corresponding author: Aishath Shaheen Ismail *Email: aishath.shaheen@mnu.edu.mv, Aishath S Ismail iD: 0000-0002-2093-2556, Phone number: +9607794212 Citation: Aishath Shaheen Ismail et al (2024), Pilot Study On Assessing Breastfeeding And Complementary Feeding Knowledge And Practice Among Mothers Of Children Under 2 Years Old, Educational Administration: Theory and Practice, 30(5), 7742-7750 Doi: 10.53555/kuey.v30i5.4231 ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Background: Child nutrition in the first two years lays the foundation for a healthy lifespan of children. Mothers’ knowledge of breast feeding, and complementary feeding is essential to ensure their babies get the required nutrition, and develop good eating habits. One of the main factors which is associated with child malnutrition is lack of parental knowledge and improper feeding patterns, especially during these critical first two years. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to assess the validity and reliability of a questionnaire developed to assess Maldivian mothers’ knowledge and practices on breastfeeding and complementary feeding of children under two years of age in the Maldives. Methods: The survey was done among 54 mothers with children under 2 years of age. A validated questionnaire from a previous study was adapted. The questionnaire had sections, on demography, knowledge, practice and perception on breastfeeding and complementary feeding. EFA and Cronbach Alpha were calculated. Descriptive analysis was used to determine the knowledge and practice scores of breastfeeding and complementary feeding. Results: The item validity was highly relevant. All the experts rated the items as relevant or highly relevant. The value for Cronbach Alpha was 0.62. EFA revealed 5 broad dimensions of feeding. Complementary feeding knowledge and practice was low compared with breastfeeding knowledge and practice. Conclusion: It was concluded that the questionnaire which was piloted was reliable and valid which can be used to collect data on breastfeeding and complementary feeding knowledge and practice among Maldivian mothers. Keywords: breastfeeding, complementary feeding, pilot study, reliability, Maldives. Background: Several studies done in under developed, developing, and developed countries show that child malnutrition is a massive problem across the globe (Global Nutrition Report, 2022; UNICEF et al., 2019; World Health Organisation, 2022b). Poor nutritional status of infants and young children can be attributed to several factors. It was associated with child feeding practices such as not initiating breastfeeding as recommended, not exclusively breastfeeding and not continuing to breastfeed until the child is 2 years old (Cohen et al., 2018). Lack of timely initiation of complementary feeding, limited diversity of food, inadequate nutrition counselling by health service providers and poor knowledge of mothers and caretakers about healthy nutrition practices