The quality of human life that is determined from the beginning when the fetus grows in the womb requires mothers to pay more attention to nutritional intake to support maternal health and the development of the baby in the womb. The reason is, the golden period or golden age only lasts the first 1,000 days of a child's life which is calculated from the time in the womb until he reaches 2 years of age.
Reported from the article by the Indonesian Pediatrician Association, entitled "The Importance of Monitoring the Growth and Development of the First 1000 Days of a Child's Life" that children under 2 years of age enter a critical period of development. At that time is the right period to make a recovery if there is a disturbance in the child's growth and development.
In addition to macronutrient needs such as protein, fat or carbohydrates, pregnant women are also required to meet the intake of micronutrients such as folic acid, iron, iodine, calcium and fish oil which is a source of DHA.
In fact, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends that pregnant women eat 225-350 grams of fish per week or 300mg of DHA per day. In fact, according to a recent survey, 21% of pregnant women did not eat fish during pregnancy and 75% of pregnant women only consumed less than 115 grams during the week.
“During pregnancy, a complete intake of micronutrients is needed to support fetal development and maternal health during pregnancy. DHA is one of the important micronutrients, because DHA deficiency during pregnancy can pose several risks. Usually often associated with premature birth, risk of preeclampsia, and low birth weight (LBW). Unfortunately, there are still many pregnant women who have not been educated to meet their intake of micronutrients including DHA. Even though one of the easy ways to get DHA intake can be through fish oil as the main source,” said Gynecologist, dr. Boy Abidin, Sp.OG in a written statement, Sunday (19/6).
One of the benefits of DHA intake is that it can support the development of the fetal eye and fetal brain to stimulate intelligence until after birth. DHA is considered capable of providing positive results during pregnancy, such as preventing premature birth, reducing the risk of low birth weight, to the long-term development of children.
A baby is said to have low birth weight if at birth his weight is less than 2.5 kg. It is explained in the Health Profile of Central Java Province 2020 released by the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) of Central Java Province that there are at least 17.59% cases of babies born with low birth weight in Solo City. One of the causes of LBW is due to lack of intake of micronutrients such as iron, folic acid, calcium, vitamin B12, and zinc, including fish oil. Compared to other cities in Central Java, the number of cases in Solo is relatively high.
Seeing the importance of nutritional intake during pregnancy, Blackmores collaborated with FoodCycle Indonesia and the Gita Pertiwi Foundation to collaborate in presenting the "Blackmores Care for Mother Nutrition Program." This program is aimed at supporting pregnant women, especially in the city of Solo, in meeting the nutritional needs of mothers and their little ones. This collaboration is realized through the supplementation of 12,000 bottles of Blackmores Pregnancy & Breast-Feeding Gold to 2,000 underprivileged pregnant and lactating mothers in the city of Solo.
“Blackmores always does more for consumers, one of which is by committing to provide the best for Mother and Little One, because we believe that the growth and development of the little one starts with a healthy mother. Blackmores Pregnancy and Breast-Feeding Gold, one of the superior products from Blackmores, contains the essential nutrients needed to help meet the micronutrient needs of Mother and Little One during pregnancy and lactation. Some of these include folic acid, fish oil, iron, calcium, and other vitamins & minerals. The fish oil contained in this supplement is also an excellent source of DHA for your little one's brain and cognitive development, from pregnancy to breastfeeding," said Senior Brand Manager of Blackmores Pregnancy & Breast-Feeding Gold.
It is important for parents to monitor their child's growth and development, especially in the first 1,000 days of a child's life so as to minimize growth deviations, such as poor nutritional status or stunting in children.
"The case of LBW is our common concern to be able to provide education to pregnant women, especially in the city of Solo. LBW cases are often caused by a lack of micronutrient intake needed by pregnant women, one of which is DHA. LBW is a cause for concern for us and this number must continue to be suppressed. We are grateful to Blackmores, who has started its caring initiative by providing direct action to help anticipate the occurrence of LBW by meeting multimicronutrient needs from supplements," said Head of Government and Human Development BAPPEDA Surakarta City, Reni Andri Lestari, ST, MM.
In addition to LBW, stunting is an issue that is in the spotlight of the Solo City Government. "There are still around 800 stunting children, our target is to reduce 3% every year. This is indeed difficult, but we cooperate with many parties to support it, because it is not only socialization and education, but also vitamins and healthy food must be provided, "said the Head of TP PKK Surakarta Selvi Ananda Gibran.
For information, "Blackmores Cares for Mother's Nutrition Program" is an effort to reduce the number of LBW in the city of Solo, so that nutritional needs as a start to print the nation's next generation of quality can be met. “Blackmores Cares for Mother” itself has been running since April and will last until next September.
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