Maternal and Child Health and Nutrition in Emerging Markets

For more than a century, visionary leaders of countries and corporations have known that long-term investment in maternal and child health is a condition of human capital formation. Some have emphasized healthcare as a human right. Some, with an eye on productivity, creativity and innovation, have focused on links between physical, intellectual and emotional health and the capacity to learn. Some have emphasized links between birth weights, life spans and long-term health. Some have drawn attention to low birth weights attributable to poor maternal health and nutrition (or in utero deficiencies) and low birth weights attributable to premature birth. Some have concentrated on relationships between the psychological status of pregnant women and fetal development. Some have investigated the consequences of post-partum psychosis. Some have stressed relationships between health and nutrition in the 1000 days from conception to age two and longevity, freedom from disease and adult capabilities. The symposium described in this note was designed to allow participants to contribute to a robust framework that would take account of complementary and competing perspectives.

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