Child Nutrition Essay

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Nutrition is the hallmark and determinant of development and growth in all organisms, and it is all the more paramount during the gestational period when new life is about to born. During gestation, maternal nutrition plays a direct, pivotal role in fetal growth; maintaining proper nourishment for the mother is not only vital for the overall health of the mother in anticipation of delivery, but also in the regulation and development of the fetus, which in turn determines the offspring’s long-term health and condition. With adequate available nutrition, the fetus can subsequently attain its growth potential and be born at an appropriate birth weight and in good health. Undernourished pregnant mothers, however, are at higher risk of contracting …show more content…

The study’s population consisted of adolescents, women of reproductive age, pregnant women, newborn babies and children as the investigators searched to find possible platforms to help prevent as well as treat undernutrition. In addition, the meta-analysis review focused on 43 nutrition-related interventions and the costs associated with certain interventions, such as fortifying food with vitamins and minerals, that they found to be effective in relieving neonatal mortality and address micronutrient deficiencies in women (Vaivada, Gaffey, Das, & Bhutta, 2017). Though we will focus more one finding in particular. One finding, that fortification of staple foods (e.g. salt iodization, flour fortification with iron and folate), was found the most efficient method both in terms of cost and application if it was applied to medium to large scale industries. In addition,this intervention also helped address important deficiencies such as iodine deficiency that could be experienced in the poor populations around the world (Vaivada, Gaffey, Das, & Bhutta, 2017).Though there were many other interventions covered in this article, we believe this finding addresses the main point of the …show more content…

The review screened several online databases and processed only 31 documents consisting of studies, reports, and book chapters that fit their criteria. In the 31 documents, the population of the studies contained about 14,585 of pregnant women, babies and children (Carolan-Olah , Duarte-Gardea, & Lechuga, 2015). The review focused on how the nutritional status of the mother not only affected her but also led to future complications that would affect the child. Meaning, the mother’s actions would lead to alteration in the genetic makeup that would lead to predisposition to adult diseases such as type 2 diabetes and cardiac diseases.It was found that pregnancy was a possible time for dietary education and intervention on behalf of both child and mother after analyzing these documents. This evidence shows that education at this time point is optimal to reach new mothers. Though this practice has been implemented in many western countries, most notably the United States, it is not really practices in other countries or in women who fall in the low socioeconomic status

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