Global Nutrition Empowerment

Healthy women make healthy babies. Women who receive accurate information about good nutrition are better able to keep themselves healthy and provide the best possible environment for their unborn children and breast feeding infants. The first 1000 days of a child's life is critical for good health. Those 1000 days begin at the time of conception, and indeed the first 30 days of life before a mother is aware of her new pregnancy. Folic acid is a micronutrient commonly available in green leafy vegetables and pulses. For mothers to get enough folate for optimal brain and spinal cord development, and to prevent neural tube defects in genetically susceptible babies, approximately one kilogram of spinach would have to be eaten every day. This is not possible, so either food fortification or supplementation is needed to keep mothers and babies as healthy as possible. Folate needs to start a month prior to conception for the maximum effect.