Nutrition/Malnutrition in Latin America

Nutrition/Malnutrition in Latin America

There are many initiatives to take on malnutrition in Latin America. The countries that are most affected are El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua.  Together they account for 96% of the regions chronic malnourished children under the age of 5.   Malnutrition contributes directly to increased poverty and to the country's lack of economic growth.  

In 2006, the world bank organized a workshop in conjunction with other world organizations to develop strategies to aid in community-based programs for mothers and infants under 2 years of age.  

“Well-nourished women run fewer risks during pregnancy and childbirth.  Well-nourished children perform better at school, become healthier adults, and can offer a better start in life to their own children"     - Xiomara Castro de Zelaya, First Lady of Honduras

The research shows that the main cause of malnutrition in Central America is not lack of food, but a combination of factors such as poor maternal health, inappropriate infant care and feeding practices, and lack of access to safe water and sanitation. 

The workshop helped to define five initiatives being to fight malnutrition:

1) Prevention - through growth monitoring and the linking of high-risk cases to medical specilaists

2) Prioritizing the poor, rural and indigenous populations where malnutrition is concentrated and targeting mothers and children in the first two years of life.

3) Educating parents about hygiene, the importance of monitoring their children’s height and weight, and child care feeding practices, including exclusive breastfeeding in the first six months of life

4) Action at the national, program and community levels, "supported by an appropriate multisectoral agenda and effective nutrition programs in at-risk communities"

5) The monitoring and evaluation of programs

I felt that this issue was important because I have seen first hand the effects of malnutrition on a child and the educational delays it has on a child.  As an advocate of young children and their families it is important be interested in all issues that they may be facing and nutrition/malnutrition is a topic that I now know more about.

  

References

http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/LACEXT/0,,contentMDK:21161481~menuPK:258559~pagePK:2865106~piPK:2865128~theSitePK:258554,00.html  

http://www.worldbank.org/projects/P077756/guatemala-maternal-infant-health-nutrition?lang=en

http://books.google.com/books?id=teoLnrgQVkwC&pg=PA40&dq=nutrition/malnutrition+in+Latin+America&hl=en&sa=X&ei=CieYUcqSG42DqQHc-oDwBA&ved=0CDUQ6AEwAQ

                                      

Child Birth in India

In India 60% of all births occur at home.  Most births occur at home and most are in rural India.  These women cannot get to an institution or are reluctant to.  The infant mortality rates in India are also high.  In India the cutting of the umbilical is seen as impure and there is a particular person in the community or place of birth that has this task.  This person is called  the dai.  The dai is given this task because they are of low caste. 

Most mothers in India prefer to have a home birth and most babies are delivered by a family member.  Mothers may not in contact with their children for at least 10 days and up to five weeks because the child is still considered unclean.   Other superstitions that come with birth is that weighing the baby can cause influence of the “evil eye”.  Birth weight can identify many things about the child and their development but in India weighing the child means something totally different.  Their apprehension about weighing their children come from religious beliefs and the vows they make to their religion. 

Even if a woman is of high socio-economic status she still will probably be against the idea of weighing her child at birth because of religious beliefs.  These beliefs and findings are very different than those in the US.  Most Americans base their understanding of child birth on science and not religion.  

Birth in India contrasts births in America because of views on religion and science.

Quite enlightening isn't it?!

Bhattacharya, A., Dwivedy, R., Nandeshwar, S., De Costa, A. (2008).‘To weigh or not to weigh?’ Socio-cultural practices affecting weighing at birth in Vidisha, India. ELSEVIER, Volume 14, Issue 6. Pgs. 199-206.

My Personal Birthing Experience

Considering I have no children and I get nauseous at the sight of of blood; I do not have any experiences with child birth, aside from my own birth.  This is why I have chosen this particular event.

From what I hear my delivery was high-risk and almost cost my mother her life.  I was born two weeks late and had moved my bowels inside my mother's stomach.  Due to this complication my mother was rushed into surgery for a c-section.  I was delivered in a hospital (controlled environment) near my parents' house.  This is important because presence of medical attention and a controlled environment increased the probability that my mother and I would successfully make it through my birth. Also contributing to the birthing experience was the fact that my father and grandmother were there to emotionally support my mother through the process of labor and delivery.  

All of the factors mentioned above have contributed to my development.  My parents have had a family support system to help raise me and my brother.  My grandparents and extended family have been with us through the years helping in any way.  This has led to a strong family bond.  I am very close to my family and rely on them for support in good times and bad.  If my parents did not have a stable family to lean on, my mother might have experienced depression and they would have had a difficult time paying for child care.  There are many factors that could have adversely affected how I developed as a child.  Since there was proper medical attention from my mother and me, I was delivered a healthy 6 lbs. on February 3rd.