WHAT IS THE FIRST 1000 DAYS OF LIFE?

The First 1000 Days is the pe- riod between conception until the child’s 2nd birthday. The 1000 days comprise 270 days of pregnancy, 365 days for the first year of life of the child and another 365 days for the 2nd year of his/her life. The First 1000 Days is the period of rapid growth where nutrient deficiencies can have long-term consequences. Good nutrition during this period can help maximize the child’s ability to grow, learn and develop that has profound effect in his/her health, well-being and success later on in adulthood. The quality of nutrition during the First 1000 Days can have a significant impact on the achieve- ment of national and global devel- opment goals.

Why is the First 1000 Days of life important?

The First 1000 Days is globally recognized as the “golden window of opportunity” for nutrition and related interventions to have a posi- tive impact on the child’s physical and mental development. Good nu- trition of both the mother and the

would do his best to accomplish his duties and responsibilities as local lawmaker.

Mr. Lao finished third in the voting, behind councilors Franklin Dante A. Respicio and Roger John “RJ” C. Fariñas, who placed first and second, respectively.

Education, PWDs MR. Lao said he plans to focus on education the rights of persons with disabilities (PWDs).

child is an important driver for a child to achieve maximum growth and development potential that has lasting, profound effect in the life course.

It is during the First 1000 Days of life when growth faltering hap- pens. Studies have shown a link between undernutrition, especially stunting, in the early years of life and overnutrition in the child’s later years and consequent development of noncommunicable diseases. Stunting is defined as height or length-for-age below 2 z-score line based on the WHO Child Growth Standards. Stunted growth, or bansot in Filipino, means that the child is short compared to other children of the same age.

Stunting is an irreversible out- come of poor nutrition and repeated bouts of infection during the First 1000 Days. Children who are stunted have diminished cognitive and physical development, reduced pro- ductive capacity and poor health.

The First 1000 Days journey

a. Pregnancy (270 days)

The First 1000 Days of life starts on the day of conception.

He said he will look into pos- sible livelihood projects for PWDs. This, he explained, is so they could participate fully in community build- ing and at the same time fulfill their dreams.

He said he will also look into improving day care centers; he al- ready coined a phrase for it” “Handy Cares”.

He said he will also give schol- arship grants to deserving stu- dents. He disclosed that he already

During pregnancy, the baby is solely dependent on the mother for nourishment that he/she needs in order to grow and develop properly.

The mother should get a bal- anced and varied diet together with right amounts of vitamins and min- erals (iron or ferrous sulfate, folate or folic acid and iodine) to provide the needs of the growing child in her womb. This lays the foundation for the child’s cognitive, motor and social skills that will eventually af- fect future school performance, em- ployment and productivity. Evi- dence shows that a mother’s diet during pregnancy can affect the dis- position of a child towards devel- oping non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and heart diseases.

Prior to conception, a woman should maintain a normal weight to give birth to a child with normal weight. A pregnant woman should also have healthy weight gain throughout her pregnancy, about 1- 1.5 kilograms for the first trimester and 0.5 kilogram per week during the rest of the pregnancy. # Source: nnc.gov.ph