Infant and young child feeding is a key area to improve child survival and promote healthy growth and development. The first 2 years of a child’s life are particularly important, as optimal nutrition during this period lowers morbidity and mortality, reduces the risk of chronic disease, and fosters better development overall. Proper infant nutrition is fundamental to a child’s continued health, from birth through adulthood.
Correct feeding in the first three years of life is particularly important due to its role in lowering morbidity and mortality, reducing the risk of chronic disease throughout their life span, and promoting regular mental and physical development. Preterm infants are born at less than 37 weeks gestational age and low birth weight infants are born with a birth weight below 2.5kg regardless of gestational age. An estimated 15 million newborns are born preterm and more than 20 million are born low birth weight each year. Prematurity and low birth weight remains the leading cause of death in newborns and children under-five years.
infant stages of development week by week, Preterm ... The PGNB is supporting several areas of research pertinent to infant care and infant health. For example, the Growth and Development program is focusing on basic research about growth-promoting polypeptides and hypothalamic-releasing factors that interact to influence normal growth and physiological development.
