To reduce stunting in India, space out births

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-02/cu-trs021721.php

 

News Release 17-Feb-2021
Cornell University

 

Adequate spacing between births can help to alleviate the likelihood of stunting in children, according to a new study from the Tata-Cornell Institute for Agriculture and Nutrition (TCI).

In an article published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, TCI postdoctoral associate Sunaina Dhingra and Director Prabhu Pingali find that differences in height between firstborn and later-born children may be due to inadequate time between births. When children are born at least three years after their older siblings, the height gap between them disappears.

India's family planning policies have focused on lowering population growth and postponing pregnancy to improve maternal health outcomes. But while the overall fertility rate has fallen as low as 2.1, there has been little progress increasing the period between births. In 2015, approximately 60% of women surveyed waited less than the recommended period of three years between children.

The TCI study shows that placing a greater focus on sufficient birth spacing in maternal and child nutritional policies and public health programs could help to prevent stunting.


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A marker of chronic undernutrition, stunting is widespread in low- and middle-income countries, with significant, long-lasting implications for children's wellbeing. Beyond low height, stunting leaves children vulnerable to disease and at risk of lower cognitive ability.

Among the known causes of stunting are poverty, inadequate nutrition, poor diet, poor maternal health during pregnancy and breastfeeding, teen pregnancy, poor disease environment, and frequent illness. Considerable evidence also shows that birth order influences stunting, with children born after the first child at higher risk.

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The amount of time between pregnancies affects maternal and child health in several ways. A mothers' body needs time after birth to replenish key micronutrients, so getting pregnant again too quickly may reduce the nutrients available to the fetus and limit milk production. Having children too close together also makes it more difficult for parents to devote adequate time and resources to each child.

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