title: Fetal and early childhood undernutrition, mortality, and lifelong health.
abstract: Child undernutrition is a major public health challenge, estimated to be responsible for 2.2 million annual deaths. Implementation of available interventions could prevent one-third of these deaths. Emerging evidence suggests that breast-feeding can lead to improvements in intelligence quotient in children and lower risks of noncommunicable diseases in mothers and children decades later. Nonetheless, breast-feeding and complementary feeding practices differ greatly from global recommendations. Although the World Health Organization recommends that infants receive solely breast milk for the first 6 months of life, only about one-third of infants in low-income countries meet this goal, just one-third of children 6 to 24 months old in low-income countries meet the minimum criteria for dietary diversity, and only one in five who are breast-fed receive a minimum acceptable diet. Although the potential effects of improved breast-feeding and complementary feeding appear large, funding for research and greater use of existing effective interventions seems low compared with other life-saving child health interventions.
authors.affiliation: Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization, 525 23rd Street NW, Washington, DC 20037-2895, USA. lutterch@paho.org
authors.forename: Chessa K
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Lutter
authors.forename: Randall
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lutter
mesh_terms: D001942:Breast Feeding; D015362:Child Nutrition Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000401:mortality / Q000517:prevention & control; D002675:Child, Preschool; D019049:Developed Countries; D003906:Developing Countries; D005260:Female; D048070:Fetal Nutrition Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000401:mortality / Q000517:prevention & control; D006262:Health; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007225:Infant Food; D007228:Infant Nutrition Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000401:mortality / Q000517:prevention & control; D007227:Infant Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D007231:Infant, Newborn