www.ejbps.com Priyanka et al. European Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences 744 ASSESSMENT OF KNOWLEDGE ON SUPPLEMENTARY FOODS OF PREGNANT MOTHERS ATTENDING REPRODUCTIVE CHILD HEALTH CARE PROGRAMME Priyanka Jain* 1 and Rekha Sharma 2 1 Research Scholar, Post Graduate Teaching Department of Home Science, Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University. 2 Associate Professor, UGC-Human Resource Development Centre, Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University, Nagpur. Article Received on 12/08/2017 Article Revised on 01/09/2017 Article Accepted on 22/09/2017 INTRODUCTION Infants and young children need the right foods at the right time to grow and develop to their full potential. The most critical time for good nutrition is in the brief 1,000 day period from the start of a woman‟s pregnancy until a child‟s second birthday. As infants grow their nutrient needs grow with them. To keep up with this growing demand WHO recommends that infants begin eating solid, semi-solid or soft foods at the age of 6 months to ensure that there nutrient intake is sufficient to fuel their developing brains and bodies. The foods consumed between 6 months and 2 years of life called complementary food because they ideally complement an already breastmilk- based diet, and the 18-month period between 6 months and age 2 is referred to as the complementary feeding period. [1] During the complementary feeding period it is recommended that children eat a frequent and diverse diet of nutrient-rich and hygienically prepared complementary foods in addition to breast milk. Evidence has shown that a diet comprising at least four food groups a day is associated with improved growth in young children [2] Introducing children to healthy diverse foods at an early age also helps to establish taste preferences and good eating habits later in life. Several scientists [3-19] carried out studies on complementary feeding practices. However studies on knowledge of mothers attending Reproductive Child Health Care (RCH) Programme regarding supplementary food are negligible. The Government of India has been implementing the Reproductive and Child Health (RCH) programme under the umbrella of National Rural Health SJIF Impact Factor 4.382 Research Article ejbps, 2017, Volume 4, Issue 10, 744-754. European Journal of Biomedical AND Pharmaceutical sciences http://www.ejbps.com ISSN 2349-8870 Volume: 4 Issue: 10 744-754 Year: 2017 ABSTRACT Well-being of child is directly related to the nutritional status of the infant. Malnutrition rate in children increases between 6 and 18 months - the period of complementary feeding. Appropriate complementary feeding promotes growth and prevents stunting among children aged between 6 and 24 months. The present study intended at assessment of knowledge of pregnant mothers attending RCH on supplementary foods. About 300 pregnant women in third trimester of pregnancy were selected from ten Anganwadi Centres of Nagpur City by purposive sampling method. The pre and post-test research design was used. A pretested structured questionnaire was used to assess the nutrition knowledge of expectant mothers before and after nutrition education programme. The questionnaire had ten questions related to supplementary feeding. The nutrition education was imparted by the researcher using charts, posters, demonstration of low cost nutritious recipes and a cooked balanced diet for the pregnant women. The results of the study showed a significant increase (p=0.000) during the post-test in mothers knowledge on supplementary foods. The mean difference between the pre and post test scores showed lowest increase for question on „need of modified family diet‟ (0.167) and highest for the question regarding „breastfeeding infants during supplementary feeding‟ (0.600). Mother‟s occupation (p=0.040), family size (p=0.007) and gravida (p = 0.048) showed significant difference between the means of the pre-test scores of mothers for knowledge regarding supplementary foods. The mean post test scores showed significant difference with respect to mother‟s education (p=0.012), occupation (p=0.000), father‟s occupation (p=0.040), father‟s income (p=0.000), family size (p=0.000), family type (p=0.032) and number of children (p=0.021). It can be strongly concluded that maternal literacy is a first crucial step for decreasing infant mortality rate. KEYWORDS: Maternal awareness, Nutrition Education, Reproductive and Child Health Care Programme (RCH), Supplementary foods. *Corresponding Author: Priyanka Jain Research Scholar, Post Graduate Teaching Department of Home Science, Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University.