The first 1,000 days of life from conception are crucial in determining how the child will grow into adulthood, experts say.
But many parents fail to provide the care that is needed.
Martin Chabi, an adolescent health and child nutrition specialist with the World Health Organization, said on Tuesday children are supposed to be breastfed within the first hour of birth.
“22 out of 1,000 children die within the first month of birth because of failure to give them the first care,” Chabi said.
He spoke during the third national ECDE stakeholders’ conference at the Mombasa Continental Resort.
Only 61 per cent of children in the country are breastfed exclusively in the first six months.
“The consequences of that will come later in life,” said Chabi.
The specialist said 39 out of 1,000 of babies who are not exclusively breastfed in the first six months die within one year.
“By five years, we’ve lost 59 out of 1,000,” he said.
He said 25 per cent of all children born and not exclusively breastfed for six months are stunted and do not reach their maximum growth potential.
“Four out of 100 of those will be wasted because of acute malnutrition and another four out of 100 will be overweight. The consequences of this is non-communicable diseases,” Chabi said.
Globally, 250 million children are at risk of not exclusively breastfed in the first six months and are likely to do poorly in school.
“We must focus on those early years if we are to eradicate poverty, diseases and other problems including criminality,” Chabi said.
Siaya governor's wife Rosella Rasanga said every child needs five componentsto grow fully: nutrition, health, safety and security, love and a good environment.
County First Ladies Association chair Nazi Kivutha said women should be cautious about what they eat once they conceive. A child’s brain starts developing from conception.
“Many of us think Early Childhood Development starts when the child is five years but the first 1,000 days are the most important because that will determine how the child’s brain will develop,” Kivutha said.
She said in most cases parents do not realise that when the child is still in the womb, they develop emotional links to their parents.
“The husband or father of the child should treat the woman well when pregnant. If the father is cruel, that child gets those cruel emotions and might affect their brain’s growth,” Kivutha said.
Mombasa deputy governor William Kingi said the county is increasingly focusing on ECDE.
Mombasa county has built eight model ECDE schools. “We are in the process of doing 89 more so that each primary school has an ECDE centre fully equipped with necessary facilities and teachers,” said Kingi.
