Maternal & Child Nutrition

Small and nutritionally at-risk infants aged under 6 months (<6 months) are at high risk of death, but important evidence gaps exist on how to best identify them. We aimed to determine associations between anthropometric deficits and mortality among infants <6 months admitted to inpatient therapeutic care. A secondary analysis of 2002-2008 data included 5034 infants aged <6 months from 12 countries. We estimated the prevalence, concurrence, and severity of wasted, stunted, and underweight, as stand-alone indicators, and using the Composite Index of Anthropometric Failure (CIAF), which combines these indicators into six subgroups of single and multiple anthropometric deficits and into one combined indicator called CIAF...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

Bottles and teats are ubiquitously used for feeding infants and young children. Yet there are limited empirical studies on the scope of infant feeding bottles, their attributes, or their marketing claims. We report the first comprehensive survey on infant feeding bottles and teats in Germany. We aimed to explore the extent of bottles and teats available in Germany, describe their physical attributes and analyze their marketing claims. A cross-sectional survey of German bottle and teat manufacturer websites was conducted between June and November 2022...

We aimed to describe how breastfeeding relates to adherence to complementary feeding (CF) recommendations, diet diversification and feeding skills development and whether sociodemographic factors explain any differences observed. The Scottish Maternal Infant and Nutrition Survey for infants aged 8-12 months collected breastfeeding history, CF practices, diet and sociodemographic data using a self-completion questionnaire. Non-healthful CF practices were starting CF < 6 months, any consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), sweet or salty snacks (treats) or unmodified cow's milk and regular consumption of commercial baby foods...

Severe acute malnutrition (SAM) is the most serious form of acute malnutrition and is associated with high mortality risk among children under 5. While the Community-based Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM) approach, recommended for treating cases of uncomplicated SAM, has increased treatment coverage and recovery outcomes, high relapse rates have been reported. Several risk factors for SAM relapse, such as insufficient food intake and high infectious disease burden in the community, have been identified...

Suaahara was an innovative, complex, multi-sectoral, large-scale, nutrition programme in Nepal to increase exposure to nutrition-related information and services, improve nutrition-related knowledge and practices among pregnant women and mothers of infants and young children, and improve their nutrition. This study evaluated the effectiveness of Suaahara to improve nutrition and nutrition-related practices by comparing changes over 10 years between intervention and comparison districts. The samples of households at baseline in 2012 and endline in 2022 were 2040 and 2480, respectively, from 120 old wards...

An important cause of stunting is limited consumption of complementary foods, in terms of both quantities and nutrients. Although existing studies show a positive association between fathers' engagement and children's diet, programmes designed to improve complementary feeding practices often only target mothers. In response to this, maternal behaviour change communication (BCC), paternal BCC and food voucher programmes were designed and implemented in Ethiopia using a clustered randomized controlled trial design...

Human milk provides essential nutrition for infants and holds many health benefits for infants and mothers. When a mother's own milk is not available for her infant, the World Health Organization recommends feeding donor human milk (DHM) from a human milk banking facility. DHM is human milk produced, collected then donated to a human milk bank (HMB). HMBs serve many vital functions, including screening donor mothers, then collecting, processing, storing, and allocating DHM to recipients. The first HMB opened in 1909, and today there are more than 700 HMBs globally...

Where a mother's own milk is not available or is insufficient, donor human milk (DHM) processed by a human milk bank (HMB) is the recommended next best alternative. HMBs exist in over 65 countries. However, most countries have yet to establish national policies or programmes that support the provision of DHM. In July 2019, a group of international experts in fields relevant to human milk banking gathered at a meeting organised by the Institute of Biomedical Ethics, University of Zurich, and co-sponsored by the World Health Organisation...

Vitamin A deficiency and soil-transmitted helminth infection are serious public health problems in Kenya. The coverage of vitamin A supplementation and deworming medication (VASD) provided through mass campaigns is generally high, yet with a cost that is not sustainable, while coverage offered through routine health services is low. Alternative strategies are needed that achieve the recommended coverage of >80% of children twice annually and can be managed by health systems with limited resources. We undertook a study from September to December 2021 to compare the feasibility and coverage of VASD locally delivered by community health volunteers (CHV) ("intervention arm") to that achieved by the bi-annual Malezi Bora campaign event ("control arm")...

Women with obesity during pregnancy are at increased risk of excessive gestational weight gain (GWG) and other maternal and infant adverse outcomes, which all potentially increase childhood obesity. This study explored infant weight outcomes for women with a body mass index (BMI) ≥ 35 kg/m² who were offered an antenatal healthy lifestyle service. A retrospective cohort study, including linking data from two separate health care Trusts, was undertaken. Data were collected from maternity records for women with a BMI ≥ 35 kg/m2 referred to an antenatal healthy lifestyle service from 2009 to 2015...

Many children in low- and middle-income countries are not attaining their developmental potential. Stunting is associated with poor child development, but it is not known which correlates of stunting are impairing child development. We explored potential socioeconomic, nutritional, clinical, and household correlates of early child development among 12-59-month-old children with stunting in a cross-sectional study in Uganda. Development was assessed using the Malawi Development Assessment Tool (MDAT) across four domains of gross and fine motor, language, and social skills...

Donor human milk (DHM) from a milk bank is the recommended feeding method for preterm infants when the mother's own milk (MOM) is not available. Despite this recommendation, information on the possible contamination of donor human milk and its impact on infant health outcomes is poorly characterised. The aim of this systematic review is to assess contaminants present in DHM samples that preterm and critically ill infants consume. The data sources used include PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL and Web of Science. A search of the data sources targeting DHM and its potential contaminants yielded 426 publications...

Animal flesh foods are rich in bioavailable iron but infrequently consumed by young children. We aimed to determine whether flesh food intake was associated with iron and anaemia status among 585 Malawian infants enroled in a 6-month egg-feeding trial. The percentage of days of small fish, large fish and meat consumption were assessed through weekly 7-day animal-source food screeners. Grams of intake were assessed through 24-h recalls conducted at 6-9, 9-12 and 12-15 months of age. Plasma ferritin, soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR) and haemoglobin concentrations were measured at 6-9 and 12-15 months of age...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

Household food insecurity (HFI) during childhood is associated with poor dietary diversity and malnutrition, placing children's growth at risk. Children with growth disorders, such as stunting, are more likely to have poor cognition and educational performance, lower economic status, and an increased risk of nutrition-related chronic diseases in adulthood. Our study aimed to systematically review and conduct a meta-analysis of cohort studies investigating the association between HFI and stunting in children aged 0-59 months...

Moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) is a persistent public health problem in Tanzania. The current approach for its management is nutrition counselling. However, there has been no commercial production of ready-to-use supplementary foods for the management of MAM in the country but rather imported from companies outside the country. The objective of the study was to determine the ability of a ready-to-use food supplementation versus corn soya blend (CSB+) to manage MAM. The randomised controlled trial employed three parallel arm approach...

Child stunting due to linear growth faltering remains a pervasive issue in low- and middle-income countries. Two schools of thought have existed pertaining to the role of domestic livestock ownership (DLO) in child linear growth. On one hand, it is argued that DLO leads to greater income and financial security, resulting in better child-raising conditions, including greater animal-source food (ASF) consumption, having protective effects towards child stunting. On the other hand, researchers argue that DLO contributes to faecal contamination and transmission of zoonotic enteric infections from animals to children, thus having destructive effects on child growth...

There are few short, validated tools to assess young children's obesity-related dietary behaviours, limiting the rapid screening of dietary behaviours in research and practice-based early obesity prevention. This study aimed to develop and assess the reliability and validity of a caregiver-reported short dietary questionnaire to rapidly assess obesity-related dietary behaviours in children aged 6 months to 5 years. The Early Prevention of Obesity in Childhood Dietary Questionnaire (EPOCH-DQ) was developed using a rigorous process to determine content and structural validity...

Optimal complementary feeding between the ages of 6 and 23 months provides children with the required range of nutritious and safe foods while continuing to be breastfed to meet their needs for essential nutrients and develop their full physical and cognitive potential. The rates of exclusive breastfeeding in the first 6 months of life have increased from 32% in 2008 to 60% in 2022 in Kenya. However, the proportion of children between 6 and 23 months receiving a minimum acceptable diet remains low and has declined from 39% in 2008 to 31% in 2023...