Protection, Promotion and Support of Healthy Maternal, Infant and Young Child Feeding

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The Essential Nutrition Actions (ENA) Approach

Healthy Maternal Nutrition

Nutrition during pregnancy:

1. Control of Maternal Iron Deficiency Anaemia
    
2. Adequate food-intake

All pregnant women should be counselled by a trained service provider on:

• Increased energy intake through one additional meal a day.
   
• Improved variety (cereal/starchy roots plus animal foods/legumes/nuts plus fruit/vegetable).
   
• Reduced workload (or at least have regular resting moments).
   
• Daily use of iodized salt for all family members.
   
• Monitor weight gain in pregnancy (a woman should gain 10-12 kg weight during pregnancy)

3. Get ready for breastfeeding

All pregnant women should be counselled by a trained service provider on:

• Initiation of breastfeeding within 60 minutes from birth.
   
• Importance of colostrums or "First Milk".
   
• Feeding only breast milk, no water or other liquids/foods for the first six months.

4. Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV/AIDS ( (PMTCT)  

• All HIV negative and unknown-status pregnant women should be encouraged to go for HIV Individual counselling and Testing
   
• All HIV positive pregnant women should be counselled by a trained service provider on infant feeding in the context of HIV

Nutrition during breastfeeding:

1. Control of Maternal Iron Deficiency Anaemia
    
2. Adequate food-intake

All breastfeeding mothers should be counselled by a trained service provider on:

• Increased energy intake through two additional meals a day (a lactating mother requires 550 calories extra per day).
• Improved variety (cereal/starchy roots plus animal foods/legumes/nuts plus fruit/vegetable).
• Reduced workload (or at least have regular resting moments).
• Daily use of iodized salt for all family members.
• Continue to breastfeed during common illnesses and pregnancy.

3. Birth spacing

• All breastfeeding mothers should be clearly advised by a trained service provider on the correct use of Lactational Amenorrhea Method (LAM) as family planning method based on the simultaneous existence of all conditions below:

1. Lactating mother did not get menses;
    
2. Baby is exclusively and frequently breastfed;
    
3. Baby is less than six months old.

• Prescribed contraceptives by health workers should not have side effects on breastfeeding

02 January, 2009