Cohort study of maternal & child nutrition and health marks 10th anniversary

On Aug 3, 2023, a symposium was held in Taicang, East China's Jiangsu province, to mark the 10th anniversary of the implementation of the "Cohort Study of Maternal and Child Nutrition and Health in China".

 

It drew the attendance of 14 officials and experts from the National Institute for Nutrition and Health under the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC), Jiangsu Provincial CDC, Suzhou Municipal CDC, Taicang Municipal Health Commission, Taicang Maternal and Infant Health Service Center, and Taicang Municipal CDC.

 

The cohort study was launched by the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) and has been funded by China's finance authorities.

 

Attendants at the symposium reviewed the program's decade-long development, key events and core technologies, summarized relevant follow-up survey experience, and engaged in in-depth discussions over its research assumption and plans for the coming decade, and envisioned its practical value and health importance.

 

The program has delivered solid outcomes, completed follow-up visits on pregnant women, new mothers and their children, accumulated key data on maternal and child nutrition and health, designed nutrition assessment models in accordance with local maternal and child healthcare systems, and achieved an organic integration between nutritional assessment guidance and maternal and infant healthcare.

 

It has also taken into account cohort data in the formulation of national health standards, finished the writing of a research report concerning nutritional and medical integration for maternal and infant health institutions, come up with proposals for maternal and infant health agencies to further improve their nutrition services, strengthened the research capacity of involved personnel, and bolstered the competence of grassroots medical workers in health management and nutritional guidance.

 

In the years ahead, the program will shift its focus to follow-up on school-age children so as to further investigate the impact of nutrition in the first 1,000 days of their life on children's growth, health and developmental potential, and explore key periods and effective intervention strategies in promoting children's health.

 

Additionally, the study will continue follow-ups on mothers to investigate the significance of nutrition during peri-pregnancy on women's long-term health, and to provide evidence-based l interventions during early life for disease prevention.