The mother-infant dyad in Madura, Indonesia: nutritional aspects

Abstract

Malnutrition is still widely prevalent in developing countries. The clinical stages of malnutrition are generally encountered in toddlers of 1–3 years of age [1], However, growth retardation starts at around the fourth month [2] whereas the peak of child mortality appears to be at infancy, especially in the peri- and neonatal periods [3, 4]. As the chances of survival for the infant are greatly determined by birth weight, particularly in developing countries, it is quite likely that low birth weight, or impaired fetal growth, is an important cause of infant death [5]. This observation has resulted in a resurgence of interest in maternal nutrition during pregnancy in relation to fetal growth and outcome of pregnancy. For similar reasons much attention is now being paid to lactation performance and the factors influencing volume and composition.