Social workers focus on aiding baby’s first days

SOCIAL workers will continue supporting poor mothers in their pursuit to ensure proper nutrition for their newborn babies within the first 1,000 days of birth, according to Social Welfare Secretary Judy Taguiwalo.

As part of the observance of National Nutrition Month, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is focusing on the importance of proper feeding practices among mothers from the first day of conception until the second birthday of the infants.

The DSWD said the first 1,000 days of a child’s life were vital to a person’s intellectual development and lifelong health, which was why it was important to inculcate proper nutritional habits in mothers.

These include breastfeeding for the first six months and taking in appropriate complementary food after six months while breastfeeding, the agency said in a statement.

The goal is to prevent complications such as stunted growth, underweight, wasting and delayed development in children, as well as to ensure that children get adequate nutrition so their brains develop, body growth and immune system health remain on track, it said.

The theme of this year’s celebration is “First 1,000 Days ni baby pahalagahan para sa malusog na kinabukasan” (Give importance to the baby’s first 1,000 days for a healthy future).

Taguiwalo said the DSWD would continue to prioritize the immediate needs of children, including their nutritional requirements.

“The department will do its part to provide support to poor families, and this includes providing mothers and children access to important health services. Part of the services we will continue to provide is the supplementary feeding program (SFP),” she said.

She said the program was under review “to determine whether it needs to be improved to make it more responsive to the needs of day care children.”

SFP is a 120-day feeding program supplementing the regular meals of children enrolled in day care centers and supervised neighborhood play (SNP). It makes use of indigenous and locally produced food equivalent to one-third of a child’s daily recommended energy and nutrient intake.

The children-beneficiaries are weighed at the start and at the end of the feeding cycle to determine the improvement in their nutrition.

To date, of 2 million target beneficiaries under the SFP’s fifth cycle of implementation, 87.5 percent or 1.7 million day care children and 9,418 SNP beneficiaries have been served nationwide, the DSWD said.