Good nutrition not optional in the first 1,000 days

Jun 12, 2011

THESE are the days from conception until two years, as described by the Uganda Nutrition Action Plan for 2010—2015.

By Florence Tushemerirwe
Why 1,000 days?
THESE are the days from conception until two years, as described by the Uganda Nutrition Action Plan for 2010—2015. The first 1,000 days provide an opportunity to address under-nutrition among infants and children because during this time, there is rapid growth — foetus divisions, cell, limb and organ formation as well as brain development.

Mothers/women of childbearing age
Proper nourishment of a mother, or intending mother boosts rapid foetal growth and ensures proper organ formation.

That is why a mother’s diet is supplemented with folic acid and iron when she conceives. However, Ugandan women are not receiving valuable nutrition education on how to use locally available foods to boost these nutrients.

On conception, under-nourished mothers experience a multitude of challenges, including reduced strength, fainting and constant fatigue. These, coupled with daily housework overload, results in pre-term and low birth weight babies (normal weight is 2.5 to 3.5kg), and sometimes miscarriages.

The best time to fight infections
This period is characterised by frequent infections (including HIV) among infants. During infant growth milestones, for instance crawling and walking, they eat just anything in their environment. With early under-nutrition they are not able to fight these infections. Infections lead to reduced food intake and compromised immunity.

Actions to prevent under-nutrition work best in these days, before a child is aged two, beyond which the effect is irreversible. These days influence a child’s nutrition and health status.

Malnutrition
The causes in children includes inadequate feeding, limited maternal care and illnesses. Mothers may not able to feed infants on demand due to competing responsibilities.

In addition, a mother would still be recovering and with less to eat, so she does not breastfeed frequently, and ends up producing less milk. Before long, the baby is abruptly weaned onto other foods before six months, which is not healthy.

Inadequate feeding leads to deficiencies of nutrients like zinc, iron, iodine, selenium and Vitamin A. These deficiencies result in impaired ability to concentrate, anaemia, goitre, dizziness, headache, vulnerability to frequent infections and retarded growth.

What to feed your child on
Foods rich in the above nutrients include mushrooms, pumpkin seeds, fermented porridge, all meats, fish, ground nuts, green leafy vegetables, eggs, beans, soy beans, iodised salt, yoghurt, milk, berries, cheese, Pawpaw, oranges, watermelon, peas, cabbage and sweet potatoes.

With a firm foundation in childhood, Ugandans are assured of healthy and productive lives. This approach can reduce the number of maternal and infant deaths, and increase national productivity.

The writer is a MUSPH-CDC HIV/AIDS fellow

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