NEW SERIES IN THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH IDENTIFIES 1,000-DAY WINDOW AS UNTAPPED POTENTIAL TO IMPROVE HEALTH OF FAMILIES

Opportunities, Challenges Identified for Pregnant People and Babies 0-2

WASHINGTON, Oct. 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Over the last two decades, science has shown that the 1,000-day window, the time between a pregnancy and the baby's second birthday, is most critical for brain development and when good nutrition has the greatest influence on future health. Today, on the heels of the first White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health in more than 50 years, The American Journal of Public Health released a special series that identifies opportunities to unlock the untapped potential of this critical time by closing data gaps, enhancing promising programs, strengthening policies and uniting around this powerful window of growth.

"Prioritizing the health of babies, younger children, and mothers will reap significant returns on investment, setting the foundation for the health of our nation," said Ambassador Susan Rice, White House Domestic Policy Advisor, in one of the editorials in the series. "Everyone has a role to play—the private sector; state, local, tribal, and territory governments; civil society; academia; philanthropy; and other partners." The series identifies:

• Gaps in data of nutrition status and eating behaviors through pregnancy, infancy and toddlerhood (H. Hamner), including micronutrient deficiencies such as iron status, which leaves women vulnerable to poor maternal outcomes (M.E. Jefferds).
• Steps to improve nutrition of pregnant people, including how to realize the potential benefits of breastfeeding so no one is left behind (R. Perez-Escamilla).
• Impacts of early disparities from historically underserved communities, especially racial disparities that stem from systemic racism in food access, education, housing, health care and employment that have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic (S. Bleich).
• Efforts to counter repeated exposure of marketing of unhealthy foods and drinks (J. Harris), and address overconsumption of ultra-processed food through government policies (J. Krieger).
• Opportunities to leverage federal and state programs and policies, such as ECE funding streams, state licensing regulations, state quality improvement programs and more (C. Dooyema).

"Unfortunately, nutritious foods are not uniformly and equally available to all. This has unique relevance to the first 1,000 days as inequities in childhood growth and development due to poor nutrition can have long-term effects on cognitive development and health throughout that child's life," said Dr. Ruth Petersen of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), guest editor of the series and an author (R. Petersen).

SOURCE 1,000 Days