Why are babies going hungry in a food-rich nation like Canada"
Jean, a 24-year-old mother of two, said: ?People don?t think there?s hungry kids out there [in Canada].? She would like us to know ?there definitely is.?
More than 1.2 million children in Canada live in food-insecure households, including babies of the families as well. In Nunavut, that number is higher than any other part of Canada. Many of the children in food insecure families go hungry: parents often need to cut the size of meals, or skips meals altogether.
The first 1,000 days of a baby?s life is the most important time for growth and development. There are special and costly nutritional needs for both mother and baby such as increased iron and folic acid for mothers, vitamin D for breastfed babies, and commercial formula for those not breastfed. But for many, this is also a time of diminished incomes. People have often said to me that even the most undernourished women can successfully breastfeed and that the real cause of infant food insecurity too much access to infant formula. This misses the point I?m making.
At the heart of infant food insecurity in Canada is poverty and food access, which disrupts maternal eating and infant feeding habits regardless of how and what babies are fed.
To really understand infant food insecurity, one needs to listen to mothers. While researching my book, Out of Milk: Infant Food Insecurity in a Rich Nation, I spoke to many mothers, those who were breastfeeding and those who had opted to use formula. Their stories reveal how poverty a...
-------------------------------- |
|
Leighton Park School Stages Their Very Own Student Election
03-05-2024 08:25 - (
moms )
Crate & Barrel Hampshire Cribs Recalled
30-04-2024 08:00 - (
moms )