Anne Malinoski
Improving child nutrition in
The First 1,000 Days
What mothers and babies eat and drink in the first 1,000 days (from conception to a child’s second birthday) has a profound impact on a child’s growth and development. Learn more at www.thousanddays.org.
The World Health Organization
found that a child’s nutrition in the first 1,000 days of life—from conception through the second year—has a substantial impact on physical and behavioral development. According to Dr. Christina Valentine, a neonatologist focused on infant and maternal diet, parents should consider this strongly when choosing a child’s first foods. “We want kids to develop physically, but we want them to be social as well,” she says. “Brain development affects not only how you learn but how you see the world and respond to sensory inputs. We need DHA from salmon or egg. We need iron from meat. In the first 1,000 days all that development in
8 • SanDiegofamily.com • Baby Guide 2020
