TABLE 10.
Specific diet and nutrition considerations for pregnancy and lactation
| • Counseling for best infant feeding practices should be conducted in a manner consistent with current WHO guidelines (eg, AFASS1, exclusive breastfeeding, safe weaning, and complementary feeding) |
| • Nutritional assessments should include screening for micronutrient status: anemia/iron deficiency before and after pregnancy |
| • Dietary intake assessment should include |
| Usual diet, diet pattern, diet diversity, and diet constraints |
| Assessment of food security |
| Household assessment to include: Who cooks/procures food for the household? Who lives in the home? How much control does the woman have over food decisions/choices/preferences/access? |
| • Sanitation: assessment of and counseling about food and water safety/sanitation (important in AFASS assessment for breastfeeding) |
| • Social/cultural assessment: assessment of food taboos and education (eg, culturally imposed avoidance of eggs during pregnancy, thereby eliminating a potentially good accessible source of protein/essential fats) |
| • Supplement use (including public health interventions) and traditional therapy use |
1
AFASS, Acceptable, Feasible, Affordable, Sustainable and Safe.