Topic: Community and Workplace Support

Nourishing Gender Equality: How Nutrition Interventions are an Underleveraged Tool in the Fight for Women’s Rights

The nutrition and women’s empowerment sectors are mutually reinforcing, and it is time to link them more intentionally. Nutrition interventions are critical to making concrete, cost-effective, and long-lasting improvements to the status of women and girls around the world.

There are three specific areas where a more intentional focus on nutrition offers advantages for women and girls in their fight for gender equality:

  • From even before a girl is born, good nutrition is a crucial component in supporting her lifelong right to Health and Survival, allowing women to live longer, better lives.
  • By boosting individual workforce participation and earning potential, good nutrition has a proven positive impact on women’s full and equal Economic Participation and Opportunity.
  • Access to good nutrition allows girls’ brains to develop fully and impacts how well women and girls can perform in school. It also secures their right to equal Educational Attainment with men and boys.

Global Breastfeeding Collective – Breastfeeding and Prevention of Overweight Children

Breastfeeding is one of the smartest investments a country can make to build its future prosperity. It offers children unparalleled health and brain-building benefits. It has the power to save the lives of women and children throughout the world, and the power to help national economies grow through lower health care costs and smarter workforces. Yet many societies are failing to adequately support women to breastfeed, and as a result, the majority of the world’s children – along with a majority of the world’s countries – are not able to reap the full benefits of breastfeeding.

The First 1,000 Days: The Case for Paid Leave in America

The United States is one of the only countries in the world without a national policy in place to provide mothers with paid time off to care for their health needs during and after pregnancy or to care for their newborn. As a result, nearly 1 in 4 women return to work within just 2 weeks of giving birth – a reality that has serious consequences for their health and that of their children. In a first-of-its-kind analysis, 1,000 Days builds the case for paid leave as a public health imperative and calls for a comprehensive paid leave policy that ensures all workers can take the time they need to care for themselves or their loved ones without jeopardizing their economic security.

Global Breastfeeding Collective: Global Breastfeeding Scorecard, 2018

The Global Breastfeeding Scorecard documents key indicators on the policies and programmes that impact breastfeeding rates and provides information on current rates of breastfeeding around the world. It is intended to encourage progress, increases accountability, and document change for all countries as they take the necessary steps to protect, promote, and support breastfeeding.

Global Breastfeeding Collective: The Investment Case for Breastfeeding

Breastfeeding is one of the smartest investments a country can make to build its future prosperity. It offers children unparalleled health and brain-building benefits. It has the power to save the lives of women and children throughout the world, and the power to help national economies grow through lower health care costs and smarter workforces. Yet many societies are failing to adequately support women to breastfeed, and as a result, the majority of the world’s children – along with a majority of the world’s countries – are not able to reap the full benefits of breastfeeding.

Feeding Guidelines for Infants and Young Toddlers: A Responsive Parenting Approach

Early life diet and feeding behaviors play an important role in establishing healthy food preferences and behaviors and are crucial for preventing childhood overweight and obesity. This report presents evidence-based recommendations for promoting healthy nutrition and feeding patterns for infants and toddlers from birth to 24 months, with an emphasis on dietary quality, portion sizes, and mealtime environment. Physical activity, soothing, and sleep are also discussed in the report, as they have also been shown to influence early life feeding behaviors and weight outcomes. These guidelines were developed by an expert panel convened by Healthy Eating Research, a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. They are based on current scientific evidence related to responsive parenting practices. The aim of the guidelines is to empower caregivers to address the nutrition and well-being of infants and toddlers by offering them healthier food and beverage options in response to their behavioral cues. The guidelines can be used by parents and caregivers in the home, as well as be applied in child-care settings where many infants and toddlers are served.

1,000 Days Policy Brief: Paid Leave

1,000 Days believes that all workers deserve paid time off from work to care for their young children. For this reason, 1,000 Days calls for comprehensive paid family and medical leave that helps all working parents in the U.S. give their children the strongest start to life.

A Snapshot of The First 1,000 Days in America

The problem of poor nutrition has dire consequences for women, infants and children in the U.S. When examining how young children and their families are faring when it comes to nutrition, the statistics paint a troubling picture. As part of its report on the nutritional health of America’s women and young children – The First 1,000 Days: Nourishing America’s Future – 1,000 Days provides a snapshot of the first 1,000 days in America.

The 10 Building Blocks of Nutrition

The science is clear about what children need during the first 1,000 days in order to grow, learn and thrive. Based on a literature review of existing scientific evidence, along with recommendations from the World Health Organization (WHO), the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and other leading experts, 1,000 Days identified a set of 10 “building blocks” for good nutrition in the first 1,000 days. These building blocks represent what every child needs to have the strongest start to life and all 10 of them are essential to healthy growth and development.