Child Health
The continuum for maternal, newborn, and child health usually refers to continuity of individual care. Continuity of care is necessary throughout the life cycle. Hence it starts from the conception. No! Even before conception by a girl child growing into a healthy, knowledgeable and aware woman to experience and cherish motherhood.
Where does it leave the father! Male awareness of responsibilities associated with family life and the role he has to play is equally important. Generally as the provider and the protector of the family, huge responsibility is on his shoulders, to make sure that the all family's needs are met.
Next influencing mechanism comes from the society we live in, as child soon mingles with other children and their parents and thus the society at large. That brings us to a point to emphasize that care of the child, male or female, in physical and mental growth, is a joint responsibility of the parents and the society. Society obviously includes close relatives especially living in grand parents and others, neighbors, social and health service providers in the community. When the child is old enough to go to school, teachers take over the responsibility in caring for the child in a slightly different mode by educating the child and morally preparing the child for the life ahead. Ken Roberts (2009) aptly described in The Element, "They say it takes a village to raise a baby".
The ideal scenario described here is far from the reality and almost impossible to achieve. However, each on of us have to add a drop in the ocean to make a difference.
So what are those entry points:
1. The Beginning of Life, a groundbreaking feature documentary that explores the impact of a child’s early environment on their cognitive, social and emotional development, is on Netflix. “Effective early childhood development takes place when children feel nurtured, cared for, protected and loved. When children receive all of these key elements in their formative years of life, they have the best possible chance of developing fully” Pia Britto. UNICEF. She continues that social environments are as important as genetics in influencing children’s development. The evidence should compel governments and policy-makers to act now and prioritize investment in the earliest years of children’s lives – from parenting to care and early learning programmes for all children.
2. Girl Child - Preference of a male child over a female one, is a serious problem in many cultures and societies. With increased sex selection of the baby and elimination of a female fetus, resulting in psychological trauma to all concerned and distortion of male female ratio in a population are some of the effects in a society. Preference of feeding a male child and neglecting the needs of a female child further adds to the inability of an adult female to lead a normal healthy reproductive life. Under nutrition during childhood and adolescent life leads to poor outcome of pregnancy. Early childhood marriage and teenage pregnancy further brings in complications of pregnancy. This treatment of a female child hardly builds any confidence in a young girl to be able to grow into a confident and responsible mother.
3. Care during Pregnancy - Demographic Health Surveys all around the world have demonstrated that combination of antenatal care and supervised delivery improves the chances of survival of both mother and the newborn considerably. If a pregnant women receives advice and health care right through pregnancy, followed by skilled supervised childbirth, it can greatly improve the outcome of pregnancy.
4. Post Natal care - More than 75% of all infant deaths in developing countries occur during the first four weeks of life. After quality antenatal care and supervised birth, post natal care can improve the survival of the newborn considerably. Great importance is given to the antenatal care and supervised delivery but postnatal care is generally neglected. Those countries where midwives follow pregnancy right through conception to child birth and after birth care, have reduced mortality to the minimum. Infant mortality in developed world 5-7/1000 live births as opposed to in hundreds in developing countries.
5. Growth Monitoring - Malnutrition, both under and over nutrition has become the scourge. India continues to boast about its persistently high GDP growth rate but more than half of India's children under five years of age are undernourished. Situation is similar in many developing countries, with people in rural areas sharing a much greater burden. Poverty may be one important factor for this problem, but much greater influence is from cultural aspects of child rearing, especially feeding children after breast feeding is not sufficient to sustain the child.
Also read: Malnutrition in India
The continuum for maternal, newborn, and child health usually refers to continuity of individual care. Continuity of care is necessary throughout the life cycle. Hence it starts from the conception. No! Even before conception by a girl child growing into a healthy, knowledgeable and aware woman to experience and cherish motherhood.
Where does it leave the father! Male awareness of responsibilities associated with family life and the role he has to play is equally important. Generally as the provider and the protector of the family, huge responsibility is on his shoulders, to make sure that the all family's needs are met.
Next influencing mechanism comes from the society we live in, as child soon mingles with other children and their parents and thus the society at large. That brings us to a point to emphasize that care of the child, male or female, in physical and mental growth, is a joint responsibility of the parents and the society. Society obviously includes close relatives especially living in grand parents and others, neighbors, social and health service providers in the community. When the child is old enough to go to school, teachers take over the responsibility in caring for the child in a slightly different mode by educating the child and morally preparing the child for the life ahead. Ken Roberts (2009) aptly described in The Element, "They say it takes a village to raise a baby".
The ideal scenario described here is far from the reality and almost impossible to achieve. However, each on of us have to add a drop in the ocean to make a difference.
So what are those entry points:
1. The Beginning of Life, a groundbreaking feature documentary that explores the impact of a child’s early environment on their cognitive, social and emotional development, is on Netflix. “Effective early childhood development takes place when children feel nurtured, cared for, protected and loved. When children receive all of these key elements in their formative years of life, they have the best possible chance of developing fully” Pia Britto. UNICEF. She continues that social environments are as important as genetics in influencing children’s development. The evidence should compel governments and policy-makers to act now and prioritize investment in the earliest years of children’s lives – from parenting to care and early learning programmes for all children.
2. Girl Child - Preference of a male child over a female one, is a serious problem in many cultures and societies. With increased sex selection of the baby and elimination of a female fetus, resulting in psychological trauma to all concerned and distortion of male female ratio in a population are some of the effects in a society. Preference of feeding a male child and neglecting the needs of a female child further adds to the inability of an adult female to lead a normal healthy reproductive life. Under nutrition during childhood and adolescent life leads to poor outcome of pregnancy. Early childhood marriage and teenage pregnancy further brings in complications of pregnancy. This treatment of a female child hardly builds any confidence in a young girl to be able to grow into a confident and responsible mother.
3. Care during Pregnancy - Demographic Health Surveys all around the world have demonstrated that combination of antenatal care and supervised delivery improves the chances of survival of both mother and the newborn considerably. If a pregnant women receives advice and health care right through pregnancy, followed by skilled supervised childbirth, it can greatly improve the outcome of pregnancy.
4. Post Natal care - More than 75% of all infant deaths in developing countries occur during the first four weeks of life. After quality antenatal care and supervised birth, post natal care can improve the survival of the newborn considerably. Great importance is given to the antenatal care and supervised delivery but postnatal care is generally neglected. Those countries where midwives follow pregnancy right through conception to child birth and after birth care, have reduced mortality to the minimum. Infant mortality in developed world 5-7/1000 live births as opposed to in hundreds in developing countries.
5. Growth Monitoring - Malnutrition, both under and over nutrition has become the scourge. India continues to boast about its persistently high GDP growth rate but more than half of India's children under five years of age are undernourished. Situation is similar in many developing countries, with people in rural areas sharing a much greater burden. Poverty may be one important factor for this problem, but much greater influence is from cultural aspects of child rearing, especially feeding children after breast feeding is not sufficient to sustain the child.
Also read: Malnutrition in India
Pictures - some of our experiences in Under-5 growth monitoring programmes ...