title: The neglected 'm' in MCH programmes--why mental health of mothers is important for child nutrition.
abstract: In most societies, mothers are the primary providers of nutrition and care to young children. This is a demanding task, and poor physical or mental health in mothers might be expected to have adverse consequences on their children's health, nutrition and psychological well-being. Child nutrition programmes do not adequately address maternal mental health. In this article, we consider the evidence from less developed countries on whether maternal mental health influences child growth, with respect to evidence from both observational studies and from clinical trials. We estimate how much of the burden of undernutrition might be averted in one setting, and propose that promoting maternal mental health and treating maternal mental illness offer important new opportunities to tackle the twin scourges of maternal ill-health and child undernutrition.
authors.affiliation: Department of Child Psychiatry, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK, and Institute of Psychiatry, Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Atif
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rahman
authors.forename: Vikram
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Patel
authors.forename: Joanna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Maselko
authors.forename: Betty
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kirkwood
mesh_terms: D001208:Asia; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D002669:Child Welfare; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology*; D003906:Developing Countries; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007229:Infant Welfare; D044342:Malnutrition / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology*; D008429:Maternal Welfare; D008603:Mental Health; D008954:Models, Biological; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D009752:Nutritional Status; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors