Caring of the Child through Nutrution

Santosh Jain Passi and Kajali Paintal*

A child’s growth and his mental and cognitive development is influenced by a host of factors wherein adequate nutrition, proper care and the much-needed stimulation play a vital role. Early childhood nutrition directly influences the functions of cells that control strength, intelligence, the immune system and other vital functions of the body.

Results of several studies have suggested that foetal under-nutrition brings about some biochemical changes in the brain which have been positively correlated with poor school performance, short attention span and lowered cognitive function. Peak brain growth occurs in the last trimester and continues till around 2 years of age.

Nutritional deprivation during intrauterine life is reported to be associated with reduced spontaneous activity, altered reflexes and disturbed sleep patterns in the new-born, extending over the period of infancy. Follow up studies of such infants to determine whether these changes persist in later years are few and the results of these studies reported till now are somewhat conflicting.

Thus, it is essential that the would be mother eats the right kind and the right amount of food so that the foetus growing inside her womb gets the essential nutrients in requisite amounts and right proportions for its optimal growth and development. The mothers’ diet should include plenty of dark green and leafy vegetables, yellow fruits and vegetables, milk and milk products; adequate amount of cereals, pulses, fats (that provide all the essential fatty acids) as well as fish and meat in amounts that would provide optimal nourishment to the mother and foetus.

Even after birth, the baby is dependent on the mother. Humans, like all other mammals, undertake the responsibility of foetal nutrition via the umbilical chord and after birth continue it through breast-feeding. Breast milk, besides being nutritionally suitable to the young, also contains a variety of substances that may actively influence growth and stimulate neonatal protection against gastrointestinal diseases. Hormones, growth factors and cytokines present in breast milk help establish biochemical and immunological communication between the mother and the child.Studies have demonstrated that the breast-fed infants tend to have higher scores in tests of cognitive ability, perform better on standardized tests of reading, mathematics and scholastic ability even during their later years. Statistics have indicated that breast-fed babies are leaner, less prone to obesity and do not usually suffer from degenerative diseases during middle and old age .It also helps in reducing the incidence of infectious diseases, mortality and morbidity.

Malnutrition

There is considerable information on the effects of severe early childhood malnutrition on the child’s future intellectual development. It has been consistently reported that schoolgoing children, who had earlier been hospitalised for Kwashiorkor and Marasmus, exhibit impairment in learning ability, intelligence quotient, school achievement, visual perception abilities, visual co-ordination, reasoning, spatial and other perceptual abilities. These studies have come from several parts of the world where childhood malnutrition is widespread.

Recent studies have indicated that anaemia affects both mental and physical development of children. Severe iron deficiency anaemia (widely prevalent during the first two years of life when the infant’s brain development is maximal) may cause permanent neurological damage. Iron deficiency anaemia (IDA) during the first two years of life has been found to be associated with poor performance in intelligence tests related to specific cognitive processes at or near school age in studies conducted in Israel, Costa Rica and Chile. In one case, delay in mental development was observed in infants and toddlers with IDA that did not reverse even after being supplemented with iron. It is believed that intellectual deficits due to IDA are mediated by either anatomic or neuro-chemical changes in the brain. Intellectual functioning in terms of intelligence quotient (IQ) at school age was studied in boys who had been severely malnourished during their first two years of life. Full scale, verbal and performance IQ’s were found to be significantly low in these children.

Iodine deficiency during pregnancy leads to poor cognitive development in the offspring. Several studies have substantiated that school children with iodine deficiency have poorer cognitive functions and low IQ. Iron and iodine deficiencies in case of malnourished can be a cause of bringing down IQ by 10 points.

Besides showing deterioration in visual functions, deficiency of vitamin A leads to increased susceptibility to infection and delayed growth i.e. "stunting". In addition, deficiency of zinc- that is essential for DNA and protein synthesis leads to growth failure and delayed secondary sexual characteristics in humans and animals. Animal studies have shown that zinc and selenium deficiencies have resulted in impaired learning, reduced attention and poor memory in the offspring.

Parent’s Role

What a child eats today will be transformed into his/her dietary habits in the coming years. Therefore the parents must try to inculcate good eating habits in their children.Parents play a critical and central role in influencing young children’s emotional, social and overall development.To provide a developmentally-sound environment besides nutrition, it is essential that the parents are motivated and have positive child-rearing behaviour and attitudes that have a major impact on the children’s emotional and overall development . Responsive nurturing care is the foundation for healthy emotional development. Research studies have indicated that sensitive and responsive parental interaction influences the child’s cognitive development significantly.

Today, parents of young children face daunting challenges and pressures. Such parents should realize that these common interactions could serve as wonderful opportunities to learn important things about their children such as their likes and dislikes and how they respond to various sensory experiences. High quality interactions during the early years of life are positively linked to a child’s subsequent cognitive and linguistic development and such children form more secure bonds with their mother or caregiver.

How a child is nurtured and cared for from birth to the first few years of his/her life particularly up to the third birthday has an enormous long-lasting impact on development – physical, emotional, social, behavioural and intellectual. Since women have also started working outside the home for economic reasons, very often the parents may not be able to devote time to their children. In such cases, it is the responsibility of the other members of the family to extend a supportive hand and share the parental role in taking care of the child. Right steps taken at this critical juncture will facilitate laying a sound foundation and help us in having healthier and intelligent generations in time to come.