Formative Research Study to Address Protein Intake in Children and Analysis of Breast Milk Nutrient Content in Mothers

Overview

This formative research seeks to explore the use of egg (as a potential source of protein) as nutritional supplement for young children aged 6-8 months of either sex and breast milk composition of mothers of infants under 6 months old living in an urban slum of Dhaka city, Bangladesh.

Inadequate dietary protein intake and prolonged undernourishment can lead to short term and long-term consequences, which can deplete financial, physical, and social capital, further exacerbating the cycle of undernutrition. Subsequently, undernutrition contributes to the difficulty in achieving sustainable development and alleviating people from poverty. Children are a particular focus of interest because of the formative impact that nutrition can have on development. This is particularly relevant for the 159 million children from low and middle-income countries (LMICs) who are already stunted and many more are at risk of stunting. Understanding how to prevent child undernutrition is imperative to the future development of these children from LMICs. There is no study done so far to understand the quantity, preference and quality of egg protein intake in young children living in LMICs with high burden of undernutrition. In this context, eggs can serve as a potential source of protein to meet the unmet need of protein especially children living in resource-poor environments. Eggs contain high concentrations of choline - an important precursor of phospholipids, which can prevent adverse pregnancy outcomes, neural tube defects, changes in brain structure and function in offspring, and impaired language development during early childhood. Evidence is limited on the support of egg-related interventions for better nutrition outcomes in children from developing countries. Also there is very little evidence on the association between mother's breast milk composition with child's nutritional status.

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