Nutrition Presentation

Under 5 Care

 This is the preventive care given on a basis of immunization, Nutrition, health

Check ups, family planning and health education.
Aims

 Under 5 care clinics are used to educate the mother about ;

 child care, breastfeeding, nutrition, growth monitoring, immunisation, cleanliness,
etc.
 It is a centre where, preventive, promoting, curative, referral, and educational
services are provided in a package manner to under 5 children under one roof.
 The overall goal of under 5 clinics is to provide comprehensive health care to
young children.
Growth Monitoring

 Regular monthly recording of weight of children and plotting on the growth chart.
 This enables us to see the changes in the weight, and give advice to the mother the
growth of the mother.
 It is a change in weight over a period of time, which is most important rather than
the weight itself.
 Growth refers to the increase in the physical size of the body and development
refers to the increase in the skills and functions
 Both are considered together because a child grows and develops as a whole.
How children grow

 The average birth weight of a child is between 2.7 – 2.9kgs.

 Most rapid at a younger age, specifically during the first year of life.
 A baby should gain atleast 500g per month in the first 3 month of life.
 When growth slows or stops, we say growth falters. This is a sign that something
is wrong with the children
Why Monitor Growth

 Growth is a sensitive indicator of a child’s growth and normal growth, and only
occurs if a child is healthy.
 Growth assessment is an essential part of the examination or investigation of any
child.
 It allows early detection of growth disorders.
 It helps in early identification and treatment of the growth disorders, therefore
improving outcome
Method of Growth Monitoring
Weight for Age

 Single best parameter for assessing physical growth.

 Careful repeated measurement at intervals, ideally from birth to 1 month.
 Compares measurements taken with reference standards of weight of children of the same age.
 Best done on growth chart.
Weight for Height

 Weight and height are interrelated.

 If there is low weight for height, it is called nutritional wasting.
 A child less than 70% of the expected weight for height is classified as severely
wasted.
When to start Growth Monitoring and how
often

 Must start at an early age in a child’s life, right from birth.

 The golden principle of new WHO Growth Standards is weighing and plotting
weight of children on the basis of completed weeks / months.
Steps in Growth Monitoring

1. Determine correct age of the child.

2. Accurate weighing of the child.
3. Plotting the weight accurately on a growth chart of appropriate gender.
4. Interpreting the direction of the growth curve and recognising if the child is
growing preoperly.
Determining Correct age of the child.

 Growth monitoring is done by weight for age method, comparing the weight of a
child with his age.
 If the child’s age is not known correctly, it is not possible to assess the growth of
the child and have an accurate growth chart.
 An under or over estimate of even 2 or 3 months could result in the child being
considered healthy or undernourished than what he is actually.
 If there are no records of birth, health workers can assess the age of a child with
the help of birth records, or, from the mother if she remembers the exact date of
birth.
Supplementation

 Something that completes or makes an addition.

 Importance of supplementation such as vitamin A strengthens the immune system
of a child and helps in growth and development, as well as preventing some
childhood illnesses.
 Vitamin A

 Vitamin A is an important type of supplement – a nutrient which supports child growth and
prevents against childhood illnesses.
 Vitamin A supplementation is one of the strategies contributing to the reduction of under 5
mortality.
 To insure adequate Vitamin A, children between 6 and 59 months of age are supplemented twice
a year with vitamin A capsules.
 Two doses of supplementation at intervals 4 -6 months in a year at 80% population coverage.
Important points

 Vitamin A capsules when administered last 4 – 6 months in the body (reason for
bi – annual supplementation).
 Two doses are desired to protect a child in a year.
 Be familiar with the dosage vitamin A capsules and deworming tablets that are
available.
 Observe hygiene – wash hands and sanitize regularly.
 Use a scissors to cut open the capsules at the tip.
Importance of Immunization

 Immunization prevents severe illness and safeguard from the vaccine preventable
disease.
 It is the process by which an individual’s immune system becomes fortified
against an infectious agent.
 They are vaccines to protect children against Polio, Hepatitis B, Measles, Rota
Virus, etc.
Pre – School Education

 This is an education establishment or learning space offering early childhood

education to children before they begin primary education.
 What age is best for pre –school?
 There is no definitive answer to this question.
 There is an average age range between 3 and 5 years old, but some kids may be
ready earlier and some kids may need to to wait a little longer.
Importance of Pre - school

 In pre – school, children will learn to strengthen their social and emotional
development.
 Children learn how to compromise, acquire problem solving skills, and be
respectful.
 Pre – school provides an environment for children to explore and gain a sense of
self, play with peers and build self confidence.
Malnutrition

 Essentially means “bad nourishment”.

 It concerns not enough as well as too much food, the wrong types of food, or the
inability to use nutrients properly to maintain health.
Various forms of Malnutrition
Undernutrition

 There are 4 broad sub – forms; wasting, stunting, underweight, and deficiencies in
vitamin A.
 Low weight-for-height is known as wasting.
 It usually indicates recent and severe weight loss, because a person has not had
enough food to eat and/or they have had an infectious
 disease, such as diarrhoea, which has caused them to lose weight.
 A young child who is moderately or severely wasted has an
 increased risk of death, but treatment is possible.
 Low height-for-age is known as stunting.
 It is the result of chronic or recurrent undernutrition, usually associated with poor
socioeconomic conditions, poor maternal health and nutrition, frequent illness,
and/or inappropriate infant and young child feeding and care in early life.
 Stunting holds children back from reaching their physical and
 cognitive potential. Children with low weight-for-age are known as underweight.
 A child who is underweight may be stunted, wasted, or both.
Marasmus
 Marasmus is severe undernutrition.
 A deficiency in some of the macronutrients the
body requires to function, including
carbohydrates and fats.
 Marasmus causes visible wasting of fat and
muscle under the skin, giving bodies a severe
wasting appearance.
 Visible wasting of fat and muscle.
 Head appears large for the body.
 Face may appear old and widened.
 Dry, brittle hair or hair loss.
 Sunken fontanelles in infants.
 BMI is below 16.
 Diagnosis primarily relies on body measurements, which are then scored
according to different scoring systems for children and adults.
 Upper arm circumference and height-to-weight ratios help health care providers
rate the severity of undernutrition height to weight ratios help define growth
delays in children.
 Healthcare providers will usually recognize the type of undernutrition (marasmus)
based on physical signs.
 A balanced diet supplies the nutrients your body needs to work effectively.
Without balanced nutrition, your body is more prone to disease, infection, fatigue,
and low performance.
 Children who don't get enough healthy foods may face growth and developmental
problems, poor academic performance, and frequent infections.
 They can also develop unhealthy eating habits that may persist into adulthood.
Kwashiorkor - Definition
 It is an acute form of childhood protein-energy malnutrition
characterized by inadequate protein intake with reasonable
caloric (energy intake; it tends to occur after weaning, when
children change from breast milk to a diet consisting mainly
of carbohydrates.
 The term Kwashiorkor is taken from the Ga language of
Ghana & means “the sickness of the weaning”.
 Studies suggest that kwashiorkor represents a maladaptive response to starvation
 characterized by oedema, irritability, anorexia, ulcerating dermatoses, and an
enlarged liver with fatty infiltrates.
 The presence of oedema caused by poor nutrition defines kwashiorkor
Nutritional-deficiency Anemia

 Is a common issue that can happen if the body does not absorb enough of certain
nutrients.
 It can result from an imbalanced diet or certain health conditions or treatments.
 Can lead to a low red blood cell count, low levels of hemoglobin in these cells, or
red blood cells that do not function as they should.
 Anemia is a term for these issues.
 Iron-deficiency anemia is the most common type, but low levels of folate or
vitamin B-12 can also cause the condition, and a low vitamin C intake can
contribute to it.
Causes
 Nutritional and dietary causes of iron-deficiency anaemia include:
 Not consuming enough iron
 Not consuming enough vitamin C
 Having a condition that prevents the body from sufficiently absorbing nutrients like intestinal
worms.
 Vitamin C helps the body absorb iron, and consuming too little vitamin C may increase the risk of
iron-deficiency anaemia.
 This condition can affect a person's overall health and ability to function from day to day.
 However, taking supplements can usually restore a person's iron levels.
Balanced diet

 A balanced diet supplies the nutrients your body needs to work effectively.
Without balanced nutrition, your body is more prone to disease, infection, fatigue,
and low performance.
 Children who don't get enough healthy foods may face growth and developmental
problems, poor academic performance, and frequent infections.
 They can also develop unhealthy eating habits that may persist into adulthood.
Nutrition Education

 Learning experiences designed to facilitate the voluntary adoption of eating and other nutrition-related
behaviors conducive to health and well-being.
 Decrease consumption of certain foods – like processed foods ( hamburgers, etc)
 Increase consumption of certain foods (e.g, fruits and veggies)
 Shop for different foods
 Food label
 Change cooking methods
 Order different foods
 Plan different meals
 The food we eat has a great impact on our health.
 By educating on the essentials of good nutrition, generations are impacted towards a healthier Zambia.
Zikomo