‘It’s not just about food': mother–infant interaction and the wider context of nutrition

Abstract

In recent years, attention has increasingly focused on the wider context of nutrition, rather than simply on calorie and nutrient intake. Recent estimates put the figure of people in the world living in extreme poverty (an income of less than $1 a day) at 1.1 billion. This has significant implications for nutritional deficiencies in infants and young children. In this paper, we will show how the physical growth and psychological development of infants and children are intimately linked, and how many of the same aetiological factors (such as caregiver sensitivity, psychosocial support, communicative exchange between infant/child and their caregiver) are implicated in both domains. Preliminary evidence indicates that community-based interventions impact on the mother-infant relationship as well as infant physical growth, and contribute to the increasing sense of how aspects of the early relationship between infants and their caretakers are crucial to any complete understanding of infant growth and development. The paediatric food-based dietary guidelines (PFBDGs) include guidelines relating to the mother-infant relationship and may thus prove to be a significant tool in community interventions.

A prospective study of psychological distress among mothers of children admitted to a nutritional rehabilitation unit in Malawi

“…Established risk factors include poverty and co-morbid disease (including HIV/AIDS). There is also increasing recognition of the impact of the psychological wellbeing of the caregiver (usually the mother), and of the caregiver-child interaction, upon the processes mediating childhood malnutrition (Tomlinson & Landman 2007).…”

Iron-Deficiency Anemia in Infancy and Mother-Infant Interaction During Feeding

“…We were especially interested in feeding interaction not only as a social-emotional indicator but also due to its importance for infant food intake, nutritional status, and physical growth. 4 We predicted that IDA in infancy would be associated with less optimal maternal and infant interaction and behavior during feeding.…”

Effects of zinc and iron supplementation fail to improve motor and language milestone scores of infants and toddlers

“…At baseline, data were collected on: infant age in months (4–5, 6–8, 9–11,12–14, or 15–17), gender (male or female), caste (higher: Brahmin and Chetri; lower: Vaiysha, Shudra, or Muslim), ethnic group (Pahadi or Madeshi), maternal literacy (not literate, literate) paternal literacy (not literate, literate), paternal occupation (farmer, including also unskilled worker, laborer, or unemployed; business, including also government, or private sector worker). To ascertain the child’s age when it was not known, local festivals and lunar calendars were used to approximate the birthdate.…”

“…(2–4) Specifically, it has been proposed that effects on child development are likely causal particularly in settings where malnutrition results from extreme poverty and lack of access to food. (5) Such an environment, with very high prevalence estimates of micronutrient deficiencies, exists in our study site, the Sarlahi district of Nepal. (6, 7)…”