Did you know? The first 1000 days of your child’s life (conception to 2 years old) is the most critical age when your child needs adequate nutrition. Beyond this age, the effects of malnutrition are irreversible, leading to poor physical and mental development, weakened immune system, recurrent and severe diarrhoea, acute respiratory infections, and an increased risk of infant mortality.
Therefore, what you eat as a pregnant woman, what you eat as a breastfeeding mum, and what you feed your child play a key role in your child’s health.
Each year, no fewer than 1 million Nigerian children die before their 5th birthday, with malnutrition contributing to nearly half of these deaths.
Is your child getting enough nutrients?
When it comes to baby feeding, quality is definitely better than quantity, especially during the first 1000 days of a child’s life (from pregnancy to 2 years old).
A parent can tell if their child is not getting enough nutrients if the child is underweight, too short for their age (stunted), or too thin for their height (wasted). These are the three key indicators for assessing the nutritional status of children.
According to the Nigerian Demographic and Health Survey 2013, 37 % Of Nigerian children are stunted; while 18% are wasted, an indication of the high level of malnutrition in the country, which has been described as a “silent crisis”.
Head of Nutrition, Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH), Dr. Chris Osa Isokpunwu, says when the rate of wasting is more than 10 percent in any nation, “it is regarded as a nutritional emergency”.
What are the right nutrients for your child?
Mothers are encouraged to put their babies to the breast in the first half-hour after birth and breastfeed them exclusively and on demand for the first six months, without any other foods or liquids or even water.
After 6 months of exclusive breastfeeding, in order to ensure consumption of essential nutrients in children, the Federal Ministry of Health recommends the FOUR STAR diet plan. This was developed under the National Nutrition Green Ribbon Campaign, as part of the strategies for a 50 percent reduction in malnutrition by 2025. Consumption of a four star diet among children aged 6-23 months combats malnutrition.
The Four Star Diet
This is a meal plan where the servings at each meal (breakfast, lunch, dinner or in-between), must contain nutrients from the four major food groups. This way your child gets nutrients from the four main groups as part of an enriched complementary feeding.
Star 1: Staples
These foods are important sources of energy, vitamins and minerals, and should be a major part of your baby’s diet. They include cereals, starchy roots and tubers (cassava, potatoes), plantain, wheat, maize, millet, sorghum, etc
Star 2: Legumes
Vegetable protein sources, beans of all types, nuts of all types. Examples include beans, lentils, peas, groundnuts and seeds such as sesame.
Star 3: Fruits and vegetables sources
Vitamin A- rich fruits and vegetables of all kinds. These are a good source of fibre, vitamins and minerals that are essential for your baby’s health. They should also be a major part of your baby’s diet. Examples include mango, papaya, passionfruit, oranges, dark-green leaves, carrots, yellow sweet potato, pumpkin; and other fruits and vegetables such as banana, pineapple, avocado, watermelon, tomatoes, eggplant and cabbage.
Star 4: Animal protein sources
Animal protein sources such as milk, dairy products, egg, fish of all types, meat of all types, poultry, snail group, etc.
