IOSR Journal of Dental and Medical Sciences (IOSR-JDMS) e-ISSN: 2279-0853, p-ISSN: 2279-0861.Volume 15, Issue 9 Ver. XII (September). 2016), PP 45-48 www.iosrjournals.org DOI: 10.9790/0853-1509124548 www.iosrjournals.org 45 | Page Eradicate Malnutrition- Mission For Mothers And Grandmothers Too. 1 Suvrana Magar 2 Anjali Kale, 3 Akshay Golwalkar, 4 Madhuri Engade, 5 Ajay Kale, 6 Karan Bagga 1 Department of Pediatrics MGM Medical College and Research Center N-6, Cidco, Aurangabad, Maharashtra 2 Department of Pediatrics MGM Medical College and Research Center N-6, Cidco, Aurangabad, Maharashtra 3 Department of Pediatrics MGM Medical College and Research Center N-6, Cidco, Aurangabad, Maharashtra 4 Department of Pediatrics MGM Medical College and Research Center N-6, Cidco, Aurangabad, Maharashtra 5 Department of Pediatrics MGM Medical College and Research Center N-6, Cidco, Aurangabad, Maharashtra 6 Department of Pediatrics MGM Medical College and Research Center N-6, Cidco, Aurangabad-431003, Maharashtra Abstract: Under nutrition is not simply a result of food insecurity, but due to inappropriate infant feeding and care practices. Child health programs currently do not focus adequately on improving public awareness of the importance of breastfeeding and on providing adequate knowledge and counseling skills. Considering the culture of respecting and obeying the family senior citizens in India, when a baby is born in the family there are all kinds of grandmothers (mother and mother in law) who are ready to advice the new mother. Grandmother plays a vital role in decisions regarding what, when ,how, how much to feed a baby and all queries which mother may have asked a doctor but listened and behaved in accordance to her. So testing the knowledge, attitude and practices of grandmothers is must if we want improve the situation of malnutrition. This paper, which is a pilot study, compares child breastfeeding and complementary feeding beliefs and behaviors of paternal and maternal grandmothers and also the mothers. Keywords: Infant feeding practices, Complimentary feeding, Malnutrition I. Introduction Childhood malnutrition is a major public health problem throughout the developing world. India has 20% of the world's children, yet unfortunately 47% children under three years of age are underweight and 46% are stunted. NFHS-3 data show that the initiation of breastfeeding within one hour is only 24.5% while the exclusive breastfeeding rate in children under six months is only 46.4 % . 1 The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that children should be exclusively breastfed during the first six months and should continue, with supplementation, up to the age of two years or more. The UNICEF conceptual framework suggests that care giving and feeding practices are critical for child growth, and development. 2 Child health programs currently do not focus adequately on improving public awareness of the importance of breastfeeding and on providing adequate knowledge and counseling skills. Lot of psychological and cultural barriers contributes to the problem of underfeeding of children less than two years of age. In African, Asian, Latin American and the Pacific societies, older women, or grandmothers, traditionally have considerable influence on decisions related to maternal and child- health at the household level. 3 Considering the culture of respecting and obeying the family senior citizens in India, when a baby is born in the family there are all kinds of grandmothers (mother and mother in law) who are ready to advice the new mother. Grandmother plays a vital role in decisions regarding what, when ,how, how much to feed a baby and all queries which mother may have asked a doctor but listened and behaved in accordance to her. In African, Asian, Latin American and the Pacific societies, older women, or grandmothers, traditionally have considerable influence on decisions related to maternal and child- health at the household level. 3 So testing the knowledge, attitude and practices of grandmothers is must if we want improve the situation of malnutrition. II. Materials And Methods Descriptive cross sectional study, in postnatal ward of Mahatma Gandhi Mission Medical College Aurangabad, Maharashtra. A semi-structured questionnaire was used for interviews that inquired information on socio-demographic characteristics, obstetric history, breastfeeding related factors (initiation of breastfeeding, prelacteal feeding and colostrum feeding) and economic factors, also beliefs and practices of mothers and grandmothers related to the key infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices. We chose multigravida mothers so they have already practiced breastfeeding and complimentary feeding. We chose paternal or maternal grandmother whosoever was available. So, objective of our study was to compare knowledge, attitude