Issue 42, published on April 2010.

Infant and Young Child Feeding

Although there have been improvements in the nutritional status of women and young children in the last few years, maternal and child undernutrition remains a serious problem. Optimal infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices rank among the most effective interventions to improve child health.

This issue of Health Messenger aims to provide relevant and practical information on IYCF. It emphasizes the importance of immediate and exclusive breast feeding in the first 6 months of an infant’s life and helps to refresh our knowledge on safe and appropriate complementary feeding along with continued breast feeding from 6 months to 2 years of age. Unfortunately many children are still not fed in the recommended way. These poor feeding practices are a major cause of undernutrition which is responsible for 35% of all infant and young child deaths in Cambodia.

Adequate nutrition is essential to child growth, health and development. It has often been difficult for health care workers to educate mothers on how to best feed their children because of confusing and conflicting information and persistence of myths regarding foods. Hence this urgent need for this issue of Health Messenger which provides practical and up to date information to health care workers to better support mothers in breast feeding and all family members for good complementary feeding practices. This edition may also be useful as communication
material for use at the village level.

Professor Koum Kanal
Director
National Maternal and Child Health Centre
Ministry of Health