The Importance of The First 1000 Days
Being a Psychology major, I am very passionate about proper child development and people leading healthy lives, both mentally and physically.
So when I heard 'The Digital Factory' was hosting an event with Nestle on the importance of the 1000 first days of a child's life, I jumped at the opportunity to be a part of it.
So I went to the event, held at PC Lahore, on October 17th, 2015 and learned what my course books have failed to teach me.
And I realized, I was not alone, a lot of people don't know the crucial importance of the first thousand days in a child's life.
Being a bloggers event, a lot of people with a big social media presence were in attendance. We we're only asked to do one thing; to share the information we received with everyone else and that is exactly what I intend to do with this post.
I learned a lot of valuable lessons that people in Pakistan are unaware of. Dr Huma Fahim, Medical Adviser at Nestle, delivered a very informative lecture, informed us of worrying statistics, like the fact that Pakistan is now the 9th most obese nation. Which according to Dr Huma may stem from the fact that our perception of what 'healthy' is, is grossly wrong!
Whenever we see a chubby child who is fed a constant diet of cows milk, we think of it as a positive because according to us the child is merely 'healthy'. But this in reality, is far from true. Cows milk actually causes obesity due to the higher fat content present in it and also may cause an iron deficiency! Obesity in childhood is a problem that chases a person all their life, heart diseases and other health problems may develop later on due to obesity in your childhood! Scary thought considering how we in Pakistan, force feed our babies dairy products all the time.
What I learned is that nothing and I mean NOTHING should be used as a substitute for mother's milk in the first six months of a newborn's life. Not even water, baby formula, cows milk; nothing can give the nutrients a child needs like mother's milk can. The only exceptional case is when a doctor specifically prescribes so.
The baby can only be as healthy as the mother. An expecting mother should be very careful about what she eats. Not only does this affect the development the child's taste buds but also the nutrition they receive. And lets not forget the environment an expecting mother is in; if she is exposed to a hostile and tense environment not only will it affect her health but the baby's as well.
Mr Mujeeb-ud-Din, the Country Compliance Manager at Nestle, emphasized on the official WHO and government statistics about how many people in Pakistan suffer from different deficiencies, making us realize just how serious a problem this is in our country!
Another thing I liked about the session is, that the focus was not only on women but on men as well. A lot of times we see that such events only restrict themselves to having a female audience but this time, men we're present as well so the message could be spread further and to a wider audience.
After the presentation, there was a question and answer session where people we're asked to share myths related to health that they may have in their families and for the experts to tell us if their is any truth behind them. This interactive session was not only funny but eye opening at the same time.
Dr Huma Fahim and Mr Shah Mujeeb-ud-Din gave us a lot of information on how to ensure a healthy life for a child and I along with everyone else present, made a pledge to pass on the message to everyone I know. And I hope, after reading this post, you'll do the same!
So when I heard 'The Digital Factory' was hosting an event with Nestle on the importance of the 1000 first days of a child's life, I jumped at the opportunity to be a part of it.
So I went to the event, held at PC Lahore, on October 17th, 2015 and learned what my course books have failed to teach me.
And I realized, I was not alone, a lot of people don't know the crucial importance of the first thousand days in a child's life.
Being a bloggers event, a lot of people with a big social media presence were in attendance. We we're only asked to do one thing; to share the information we received with everyone else and that is exactly what I intend to do with this post.
I learned a lot of valuable lessons that people in Pakistan are unaware of. Dr Huma Fahim, Medical Adviser at Nestle, delivered a very informative lecture, informed us of worrying statistics, like the fact that Pakistan is now the 9th most obese nation. Which according to Dr Huma may stem from the fact that our perception of what 'healthy' is, is grossly wrong!
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| Dr Huma delivering presentation - TDF |
What I learned is that nothing and I mean NOTHING should be used as a substitute for mother's milk in the first six months of a newborn's life. Not even water, baby formula, cows milk; nothing can give the nutrients a child needs like mother's milk can. The only exceptional case is when a doctor specifically prescribes so.
The baby can only be as healthy as the mother. An expecting mother should be very careful about what she eats. Not only does this affect the development the child's taste buds but also the nutrition they receive. And lets not forget the environment an expecting mother is in; if she is exposed to a hostile and tense environment not only will it affect her health but the baby's as well.
Mr Mujeeb-ud-Din, the Country Compliance Manager at Nestle, emphasized on the official WHO and government statistics about how many people in Pakistan suffer from different deficiencies, making us realize just how serious a problem this is in our country!
Another thing I liked about the session is, that the focus was not only on women but on men as well. A lot of times we see that such events only restrict themselves to having a female audience but this time, men we're present as well so the message could be spread further and to a wider audience.
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| Tweeting with the hashtag |
Dr Huma Fahim and Mr Shah Mujeeb-ud-Din gave us a lot of information on how to ensure a healthy life for a child and I along with everyone else present, made a pledge to pass on the message to everyone I know. And I hope, after reading this post, you'll do the same!
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| All the bloggers in one picture - TDF |
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