What if we told you that child malnutrition can begin even before a baby is born? Here’s why.
The first 1000 days of life, from conception to a child’s second birthday, also known as the “critical window”, are the period when the foundations of physical, cognitive and emotional growth are laid.
A mother who does not eat enough during pregnancy is at risk of giving birth to an underweight baby, already fragile at birth. For that child, life gets off to a difficult start. Children who go hungry in the womb are more vulnerable to illness and face a higher risk of dying in their first months of life. They may develop growth delays that are hard to reverse and struggle with cognitive development, with consequences that follow them through school and into adulthood.
After birth, too, the mother’s health remains central. Pregnancy and breastfeeding greatly increase women’s nutritional needs. When a mother eats too little, her body keeps producing milk, but it does so by drawing on her own reserves. Without proper support, she grows weaker, putting her own health and that of her children at risk.
This is where the “1000 Days Zero Hunger” programme comes in, which the project is bringing to the 19 villages of Loul Sessène. Community health workers will follow pregnant women and children up to the age of two through regular weighing, measurements and check-ups. They will support children at risk and distribute fortified flours to the most vulnerable families. Above all, they will talk with mothers about nutrition, breastfeeding and hygiene, so that every good practice learned is passed on from home to home.
Caring for the mother is essential to protect not only her health, but also her child’s future.
This activity is part of the project “The New Paediatric Hospital. Together Against Maternal and Child Malnutrition”, made possible by the generous support of the Fondation d’Entreprise Wavestone, which since 2009 has promoted initiatives for children living in poverty and extreme vulnerability, in France and around the world.
