Feeding of Infants and Young Children in South Asia

Torlesse, Harriet ; Raju, Dhushyanth

World Bank, Washington, DC

关键词: INFANT NUTRITION;    CHILD NUTRITION;    BREASTFEEDING;    MALNUTRITION;    UNDERNUTRITION;   

DOI  :  10.1596/1813-9450-8655
RP-ID  :  WPS8655

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

Poor breastfeeding and complementaryfeeding practices predict child stunting and wasting inSouth Asia, suggesting that initiatives to endundernutrition in the region should focus on improving thediets of young children. This review of the literature findsthat South Asia has made relatively good progress inimproving breastfeeding practices compared with otherregions, but the lack of diversity in complementary foodsand low frequency of feeding continue to be problems.Children who are most at risk of experiencing poor feedinginclude those who are born small, have younger mothers, andlive in poorer households or in communities with less accessto, or lower uptake of, primary health services. Initiativesto improve feeding practices have not produced substantialimprovement, particularly in complementary feeding, becausesuch efforts have lacked the coverage, intensity,comprehensiveness, and continuity needed. Policy, legal, andprogram actions to protect, promote, and support recommendedfeeding practices should be informed by situation analysesand formative research on context-specific drivers of poorpractices. The actions should involve multiple sectors andstakeholders, including governments, the private sector,communities, and households.