Maternal, Infant, Child & Adolescent Nutrition

The first years of life — beginning even before birth — set the nutritional foundation for an entire lifetime. Maternal, Infant, Child & Adolescent Nutrition focuses on these formative stages, where nutrient needs are uniquely high, the consequences of deficiency are uniquely lasting, and well-timed intervention can alter health trajectories for decades. From a mother's diet during pregnancy to the rapid growth of infancy, the dietary habits of childhood, and the metabolic demands of adolescence, this session follows nutrition through the most critical windows of human development.

A central thread is the concept of the first 1,000 days — the period from conception to a child's second birthday — when nutrition profoundly influences growth, brain development, and long-term disease risk. Delegates will explore maternal nutrition and its effect on pregnancy outcomes, the science and practice of breastfeeding and complementary feeding, strategies to prevent both undernutrition and childhood obesity, and the distinct nutritional challenges of the adolescent growth spurt. The discussion also addresses how early dietary patterns and feeding behaviours shape lifelong eating habits and metabolic programming.

Because these life stages are so consequential, the session draws a broad audience: paediatric dietitians, obstetric and child health clinicians, public health nutritionists, researchers, and policymakers working to improve outcomes for mothers and children. Those focused on child and maternal nutrition will find practical and scientific depth in equal measure. For attendees of the Nutrition Conference, this session underscores a powerful idea — that investing in nutrition during early life yields some of the highest returns in all of public health, breaking cycles of malnutrition and laying the groundwork for healthier generations to come.