Why Maternal Nutrition?
153.8 million women around the world are malnourished.
The burden is overwhelming.
Each consequence of malnutrition gives way to another, creating a vicious cycle. However, we believe that the key to disrupting the cycle of hunger is found in prioritizing maternal care .
“Undernourished girls have a greater likelihood of becoming undernourished mothers who in turn have a greater chance of giving birth to low birth weight babies, perpetuating an intergenerational cycle.”
— UNICEF PUBLICATIONS http://www.unicef.org/publications/index .html
How does maternal nourishment disrupt the intergenerational cycle?
The mothers relationship with her child is quite literally symbiotic. When a mother goes through her pregnancy malnourished, this severely impacts the nutritional status of her unborn child. Such an impact means that her baby will be born malnourished which will result in stunted organ and vital brain development. The more nourished a baby is when born, the more on track their development throughout their life will be. When we target pregnant mothers, our efforts to nourish are doubled in mother and child.
Watch this short video to understand why targeting mothers is the key to disrupting the cycle of hunger.
For more insight into targeting maternal nutrition, the article Maternal Nutrition 2019 , provides an in depth look at the issues surrounding the topic.