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This study aimed to evaluate the impact of nutrition-specific interventions on nutritional knowledge, dietary practices, and hemoglobin (Hb) status among lactating mothers in the Bukavu region, DRC.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>A randomized, controlled trial was conducted with 416 mother\u2013infant pairs from 3\u20136 to 6\u20139 months postpartum. The mothers were classified according to their mid-upper-arm circumference (MUAC) and subsequently assigned to the following intervention and control groups by block randomization: low MUAC\u2013nutrition education, low MUAC\u2013lipid-based nutrient supplements, low MUAC\u2013control; normal MUAC\u2013control; high MUAC\u2013nutrition education, high MUAC\u2013control. The pre- and post-intervention assessments included questionnaires on nutritional knowledge and practice to calculate scores (range 0\u20131); 24\u00a0h dietary recalls to calculate the Dietary Diversity Score (DDS, range 0\u201310); and measurement of maternal Hb. Changes of these parameters from pre- to post-intervention were analyzed by linear mixed models.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      The change of total knowledge score from pre- to post-intervention was significantly positively affected by reception of nutrition education with a model-based mean difference of 0.161 between mothers with nutrition education compared to those without (\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009=\u20090.000). The change in DDS was not affected, but there was a positive impact of nutrition education on the modification of complementary feeding practices (OR 2.930,\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009=\u20090.030). Change in maternal Hb was not different between the intervention and control groups with higher increases among mothers with anemia compared to all mothers.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Nutrition education can positively influence knowledge and potentially complementary feeding, while further measures may be required for beneficial effects on anemia.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Trial registration<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The study was registered prospectively at the German Clinical Trials Register (DRKS; DRKS-ID DRKS00012842) on November 27, 2017.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1186\/s40795-025-01231-x","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,13]],"date-time":"2026-01-13T12:23:58Z","timestamp":1768307038000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["The impact of nutrition-specific interventions on nutritional knowledge, dietary intake, and anemia among lactating mothers in Bukavu, Democratic Republic of the Congo \u2013 a randomized controlled trial"],"prefix":"10.1186","volume":"12","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3305-6583","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Damaris Elisabeth","family":"Beitze","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"C\u00e9line Kavira","family":"Malengera","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Theophile Barhwamire","family":"Kabesha","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jan","family":"Frank","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Veronika","family":"Scherbaum","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,13]]},"reference":[{"key":"1231_CR1","volume-title":"Global Peace Index 2018: Measuring Peace in a Complex World","author":"Institute for Economics & Peace","year":"2018","unstructured":"Institute for Economics & Peace. 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