BAGUIO CITY, Jan. 10 (PIA) — Nutrition planners are urged to refocus nutrition efforts to the critical period beginning from a mother’s pregnancy to the first two years of life of children.

United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) –South Sudan health specialist Dr. Martha B. Cayad-an said the so-called “window of opportunity” for nutrition are pregnancy, delivery, post-partum care and the first two years of life.,

Cayad-an was guest speaker during the regional nutrition awarding ceremony held January 8. She said it is important to invest in health and nutrition.

Malnutrition in the womb and during the first two years of a child’s life can cause irreversible damages such as lower intelligence, reduced physical capacity, and the transmission of malnutrition to the next generation, Cayad-an said.

She said that an iodine-deficient pregnant mother can still protect the baby if she takes in iodine in the first and second trimesters of pregnancy. However, taking supplements in the third trimester or birth will not prevent the negative effects of malnutrition to brain development.

“Low birth weight is an underlying cause of 80 percent of neonatal deaths. Infants born with low weights have impaired development. Later in life, they tend to remain underweight and are at higher risk for adult diseases such as diabetes and hypertension”, she stressed.

Stunting also affects the cognitive and motor development of children and persists into adulthood with intergenerational effect; increase in surgically-assisted births and births of low birth weight babies.

“The improvement of the nutritional status of women before conception and during pregnancy guarantees adequate nutrition throughout the vulnerable intrauterine periods of maximum linear growth and weight that pre-determine ultimate height and weight”, she added.

She likewise underscored the importance of breastfeeding.

“Breastfeeding is an inherent practice and culture of Cordillerans – that should be reclaimed, all of us have a role to play- optimize any opportunity to reclaim it”, she said.

Cayad-an commended the nutrition program awardees and implementers and other stakeholders for their significant contribution in nurturing women and children.(JDP MC/PIA – CAR)
_ By Maria Aprilla W. Cruz, RTAN Member of PIA-CAR_