Significance of maternal nutrition and health

  • Maternal malnutrition has been linked to an increased risk of maternal morbidity, premature birth, and newborns that are too small for their gestational age.
  • Poor maternal nutrition during and throughout pregnancy is a major public health concern and has negative repercussions for both women and their children.

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Status of maternal health in India

  • 24 percent of mothers in South Asia have a low BMI.
  • Anaemia affects 30 percent of reproductive-age women and 37 percent of pregnant women.
  • In 10 Indian states only approximately half of the pregnant women are getting enough protein and calories.
    • As per available data, most pregnant women’s iron, vitamin A and C, and folic acid consumption were less than half of what was advised.

Causes of poor maternal nutrition

  • POSHAN Abhiyaan — India’s flagship National Nutrition Mission — aims to enhance maternal nutrition by employing technology, behaviour change communication, community engagement, and cross-sectoral convergence, take-home rations and hot cooked meals for pregnant and lactating women, micronutrient supplements, food fortification, and delivery of subsidized staples through the Public Distribution System, cash transfers, nutrition-sensitive agriculture, diet education and counseling.
  • Ministry of Women and Child Development’s Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) programme envisages providing micronutrient-fortified supplementary food and/or energy-dense take-home meals for pregnant women and mothers who are breast-feeding.
    • It also provides micronutrient supplements, deworming tablets, weight gain, monitoring, and nutrition advice to pregnant women as part of antenatal care.
  • Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY): As a part of the National Food Security Act of 2013, the Maternity Benefit Program envisages providing eligible beneficiaries conditional cash incentives.
  • Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY): The National Rural Health Mission’s Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) is a safe motherhood intervention, lowering maternal and infant mortality by encouraging pregnant women to give birth in a hospital.
  • Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan (PMSMA) has the goal of eliminating out-of-pocket payments for pregnant women and unwell newborns seeking treatment at a public health facility. While prenatal care is commonly provided to pregnant women, PMSMA requires specialists, radiologists, and physicians to provide particular antenatal services at government health institutions.

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Child health in India

  • India has one of the highest numbers of malnourished children in the world.
  • As per NFHS-5 findings, only 11 percent of children aged 6 to 23 months had an adequate dietary intake.
  • Overall, 67 percent of children in the age group of 6 to 59 months and 57 percent of adolescents (15-19 years) were anaemic (NFHS, 2021).
    • The increase in the percentage of children suffering from anaemia – from 59 percent in NFHS-4 to 67 percent in NFHS-5 – is even more concerning.
  • The percentage of stunted, wasted, underweight, and anaemic children in India is 36 percent, 19 percent, 32 percent, and 67 percent, respectively.

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Recommendations

  • India can consider the following measures to improve the nutrition and wellbeing of mothers and children.
    • ‘Jan Andolan’ for nutritional and health awareness.
    • Home-based newborn care program, ideas to promote exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months, maximize deworming and immunization, reduce consumption of unhealthy ultra-processed foods high in fats, sugars and salt.
    • Using financial levers for maximum impact: Enable access to healthy and sustainably-produced foods to all sections of society through the alignment of subsidies, taxes, incentives and reviewing policies targeting food environments, food procurement, and public.
    • Push for agricultural policies emphasizing quality, nutritious and sustainable food production practices rather than concentrating only on producing greater quantities of food.
    • Improve Education, Research and their Dissemination.
    • Establish an evidence base of systemic drivers and actions, including indigenous and traditional approaches to health and wellbeing.

Archive of Gist of Kurukshetra | February 2022 Issue: Health

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