CHAPTER ONE

1.0               Introduction

Growth is a positive change in size or maturation, often over the period of time which occurred as a stage of maturation or a process toward fullness or fulfillment.

Growth pattern involves following changes in a child’s physical development by regular measurement of weight and sometimes length. It's a positive change in size of a growing individual, is a dynamic measure of health, the best available indicator of a nutritional status and the only real measure of nutrition adequacy. Deviations from the expected or predictable complete course of growing are not visible at earliest stage and such invisibility is a major barrier in preventing and curing health problems. Growth pattern has gained popularity in the last two to three decades and has been practiced in over EIGHTY (80) countries with perhaps the earliest report from clinic-base activities in Nigeria.

The most widely promoted method of growth pattern is weighing and charting growth, since weight gain is believed to be the most sensitive indication of growth and is universally applicable. Among other techniques, measuring of mid upper arms circumference (MAUC) is very easy and cheapest alternative to weighing and has been recommended for  use at homes and village levels when ever regular and frequent weighing is not possible (UNICEF 2018). The measurement starts at birth and should be performed on a monthly basis, accurately recorded on a growth chart and interpreted.

The health workers provide services such as giving information through counseling facilitating communication and interacting with mothers in a way that aims to generate adequate maternal action to promote child growth, furthermore, adequate supervision are provided for the health workers while strong links between therapeutic feeding units are established to address moderate and acute malnutrition problems.

Nutritional status is a requirement of health of a person convinced by the diet, the levels of nutrients containing in the body and normal metabolic intergrity, managed by balance food consumption and normal utilization  of nutrients.

1.1     Significant Of The Study

·        The study will help to identify the major problem associating with poor growth pattern and nutritional status of under five.

·        It will enable the state authority to use the health workers around the study area to create awareness on proper breastfeeding and safe complementary feeding of under five.

·        It will also serve as reference to other allied students

1.1       Aims and Objectives

•         To assess the growth pattern and nutritional status of the under five children at yusuf dan-tsoho memorial hospital tundun-wada Kaduna state.

•         To determine the degree of wasting and stunting among under five using mid upper arms circumference (MAUC).

•         To find out the growth pattern method use at yusuf dan-tsoho memorial hospital  Kaduna.

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