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Nutrition is the focal point of health and well-being , and is thus very crucial for both mother and child, feel experts
Pooja Madhok
Nutrition is a desperately neglected aspect of maternal , newborn and child health. The reasons for this neglect are understandable but not justifiable. More than a third of child deaths and eleven per cent of the total disease burden worldwide are due to maternal and child undernutrition. Low birth weight of babies has become a grievous issue in India. According to UNICEF one in three newborns in India is born with this scourge which is caused, mainly, due to child and maternal undernutrition . If mothers take good nutrition with essential dietary supplementation during and after pregnancy , this menace can be curbed, feel doctors all over.
In fact, it is often said that maternal and child nutrition is one of the major indicators of the development of a country. The gloomy state of 'maternal nutrition' worldwide , and particularly in India, is a major concern for global health agencies, nutrition bodies and governments.
Researches say that almost seventy per cent of a baby's brain develops during the first 1000 days since conception, the nine months in the womb, and the first two years out of it. The mother's nutrition during this period, therefore, is of utmost importance. Food diversity and dietary supplementation with key nutrients like protein, iron, zinc, DHA, copper, iodine, selenium , vitamin A, choline and folate play a crucial role in ensuring optimal nutrition for mothers. |
