Overview of the nutritional situation of women
Securing access to nutritious, safe, affordable and sustainable diets, along with essential nutrition services and positive nutrition practices, is fundamental to women’s survival, health and well-being. Women’s nutrition is also associated with the nutrition status, health, growth and development of their children. Protecting women’s nutrition at each phase of the life course is therefore extremely important – especially before and during pregnancy and while breastfeeding, when nutritional vulnerability is greatest.
For women who are about to become mothers, adequate diets preconception help establish sufficient nutrient reserves to support pregnancy. During adolescence, it is important that girls consume adequate diets to meet their energy, protein and micronutrient needs and support physical growth and development.
For adolescents who become pregnant, nutritious diets also prepare them for the nutritional demands of pregnancy and breastfeeding.
During pregnancy, women have increased dietary requirements to support changes in maternal tissues, metabolism, and foetal growth and development. Compared with pre-pregnancy, energy requirements increase by an average of 300 kcal/day during pregnancy. In addition, pregnancy also increases women’s need for protein, vitamins and minerals such as iron, folic acid and calcium.
Women who are breastfeeding also have increased energy needs compared with non-pregnant and non-lactating women. Indeed, energy requirements increase by 640 kcal/day during the first six months postpartum among women who breastfeed exclusively. Although infant demand is a key condition for stimulating milk production, better diets can also improve the lactation capacity of women who are undernourished.
