First 1000 Days of Life: We Reap What We Sow

Details: Category: Region 9; Published: 28 February 2022

F1K A mother’s nourishment during pregnancy and the nourishment a child gets within day one up to two years of age are crucially vital influences in deciding great health both now and long term. This begins with 1000 days of life that sets us up for great wellbeing over time. Ensuring babies have the correct blend of supplements in their first 1000 days makes a difference for them to better stand up to infections and permits their developing brains and bodies to shape up their full developmental potential.

The first 1,000 days of life - the period that runs generally between conception and one’s second birthday - could be a special stage of opportunity when the foundations of ideal wellbeing, development, and neurodevelopment over the life expectancy are built up. However, as well frequently in developing countries, poverty, malnutrition result in mortality and critical morbidities such as poor health, and more dangerously, the considerable misfortune of neurodevelopmental potential. As an individual, one has come from a history of "lack of healthy sustenance" being synonymous with "undernutrition" - the genuine need of getting indeed satisfactory amounts of nourishment. In modern times, undernutrition remains the major challenge around the world. While the deficiency of nutrition is present, we too are also presently confronted with the negative effects of "overnutrition" in the form of obesity which is unsafe nourishment within the frame of unbalanced diets or diets containing potential unhealthy elements. Each of these conditions can be considered "ailing health" within the genuine sense of the global causes (bad nutrition) and each has been shown to possibly affect brain development.

In the Philippines, there are government agencies focusing on the overall nutrition of the individual and one of these is the National Nutrition Council (NNC). The NNC as the lead agency on nutrition is committed to eradicating malnutrition by 2030. With this, the agency spearheaded the nationwide feeding program called the “Tutok Kainan'' with the identified nutritionally at-risk pregnant women and 6-23 months old children as the primary beneficiaries of the program. It is a dietary supplementation program that aims to promote good nutrition in the first 1000 days of life thus starting with pregnant beneficiaries to 23 months old children.

Getting good nourishment in the womb and throughout the early life of the first 2 years is fundamental for a child's overall wellbeing and future life as an adult. It has appeared that what a mother eats, her weight, and her way of life propensities can impact how the baby's food system, immunity, and organs are created. Poor nutrition during pregnancy and early life can lead to abnormal weight, heart infection, and stroke later on in the child's life. To give your child a healthy starter, it is imperative to engage in a good dietary practice while you're pregnant and to exclusively breastfeed your baby for at least first 6 months. Once your infant begins to take solids, it is important to do some readings on what complementary foods are good for your infants.

NO II Joanna Marie E. Baltazar, RND

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