Nutrition and pregnancy

Pregnancy, infancy and early childhood are the most significant periods of growth and development in the human life cycle. Poor nutrition during these critical growth and developmental periods places infants and children at risk of impaired emotional and cognitive development and adverse health outcomes.

The Canadian National Population Health Study (1998/1999) reported that over 10% of Canadians were living in food-insecure households.  Food insecurity, which involves worrying about not having enough money to buy food, compromises the quality and quantity of food. Approximately 35% of Canadians in low-income households and 14% in middle-income households experience some form of food insecurity¹. Since poor and malnourished women find it difficult to achieve adequate nutrition, their health is compromised during their reproductive years. Women who enter each pregnancy with depleted physical resources perpetuate a cycle of mother-child malnutrition.

In Canada, two well-known programs, the Canada Prenatal Nutrition Program (CPNP) and the Community Action Program for Children (CAPC), have been implemented to support the prenatal/post-natal nutrition, health and development of women and young children. As national community-based health-promotion interventions, both the CPNP and the CAPC help community groups to establish and deliver services that address the health and nutritional needs of at-risk groups².

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