Topic: Breastfeeding

The 2013 Lancet Series on Maternal and Child Nutrition

In a follow up to its 2008 series, The Lancet’s 2013 series on maternal and child nutrition revealed that improvements in nutrition remain “a massive unfinished agenda.” Perhaps the most startling new finding was the revelation that malnutrition is responsible for nearly half of all child deaths each year—3 million children under age 5—and is the single greatest threat to child survival. The evidence within The Lancet reinforced the case for improving nutrition in the first 1,000 days, highlighting 10 proven nutrition interventions could save almost 1 million lives and reduce the number of stunted children by 33 million.

The 2008 Lancet Series on Maternal and Child Undernutrition

In 2008, the British Medical journal The Lancet published a landmark series of papers which led to a seismic shift in how the world addresses maternal and child malnutrition. The 2008 Lancet Series provided the foundation of scientific evidence upon with 1,000 Days was created.

Breastfeeding Infographic

In collaboration with WHO, 1,000 Days developed this infographic—one in a series of six—to highlight actions needed to achieve the global target on breastfeeding.

Childhood Overweight Infographic

In collaboration with WHO, 1,000 Days developed this infographic—one in a series of six—to highlight actions needed to achieve the global target on childhood overweight.

Low Birth Weight Infographic

In collaboration with WHO, 1,000 Days developed this infographic—one in a series of six—to highlight actions needed to achieve the global target on low birth weight.

Stunting Infographic

In collaboration with WHO, 1,000 Days developed this infographic—one in a series of six—to highlight actions needed to achieve the global target on stunting.

Breastfeeding Policy Brief

The World Health Organization (WHO), in collaboration with 1,000 Days, developed a series of six policy briefs linked to each of the global nutrition targets. These policy briefs provide essential guidance to policymakers regarding actions needed in order to achieve progress toward improving maternal and child nutrition and achieving the global nutrition targets by 2025.

Exclusive breastfeeding—defined as the practice of only giving an infant breast-milk for the first 6 months of life (no other food or water) —is a cornerstone of child survival and child health because it provides essential, irreplaceable nutrition for a child’s growth and development. Globally, only 38% of infants are exclusively breastfed and it is estimated that sub-optimal breastfeeding practices contributes to 800,000 deaths of children annually.

Much remains to be done to make exclusive breastfeeding the norm for infant feeding and reach the target to ensure that at least half of the world’s infants are exclusively breastfed in the first six months.

Childhood Overweight Policy Brief

The World Health Organization (WHO), in collaboration with 1,000 Days, developed a series of six policy briefs linked to each of the global nutrition targets. These policy briefs provide essential guidance to policymakers regarding actions needed in order to achieve progress toward improving maternal and child nutrition and achieving the global nutrition targets by 2025.

There has been a dramatic rise in the numbers of children under 5 years of age who are overweight. Between 2000 and 2013, the number of overweight children worldwide increased from 32 million to 42 million and it is now estimated that the number of children under 5 years of age who are overweight will increase to 70 million.

Low Birth Weight Policy Brief

The World Health Organization (WHO), in collaboration with 1,000 Days, developed a series of six policy briefs linked to each of the global nutrition targets. These policy briefs provide essential guidance to policymakers regarding actions needed in order to achieve progress toward improving maternal and child nutrition and achieving the global nutrition targets by 2025.

Low birth weight continues to be a significant public health problem globally and is associated with a range of both short- and long term consequences. Overall, it is estimated that 15% to 20% of all births worldwide are low birth weight, representing more than 20 million births a year.

The goal is to achieve a 30% reduction in the number of infants born low birth weight by the year 2025. This would translate to a reduction from approximately 20 million to about 14 million infants with low weight at birth.

Stunting Policy Brief

The World Health Organization (WHO), in collaboration with 1,000 Days, developed a series of six policy briefs linked to each of the global nutrition targets. These policy briefs provide essential guidance to policymakers regarding actions needed in order to achieve progress toward improving maternal and child nutrition and achieving the global nutrition targets by 2025.

Childhood stunting is one of the most significant impediments to human development, affecting approximately 159 million children under the age of 5 around the world. Stunting, or being too short for one’s age, is a largely irreversible outcome of inadequate nutrition and repeated bouts of infection during the first 1000 days of a child’s life. It is detrimental to the health and development of both individuals and societies and urgent progress is needed to reach the target to reduce by 40% the number of children affected by stunting.