Our earlier research has highlighted a high prevalence of anaemia, micronutrient deficiencies, and impaired infant growth among lactating women and infants in Sumedang district, West Java, Indonesia that were associated with large deficits in their micronutrient intakes. In response to these disturbing findings we have developed the micronutrient- enriched crackers (MEC) based on powdered eggshells and chicken liver, a readily available and affordable, local animal-source food. We will supply these MEC or a placebo, manufactured locally, weekly to a group of women in Sumedang district from 8-14 weeks gestation to 5 months post-partum in an effort to enrich the micronutrient content of the daily diets of the treatment group so they no longer have any dietary shortfalls in micronutrients. Our overall aim is to determine if MEC consumed daily by mothers for 6 months during pregnancy improves the birth length of their infants, and if daily consumption of MEC is continued daily to 5 months post-partum enhances infant linear growth compared to the placebo. This study is funded by the UK Wellcome Trust, the grant reference number is 216447/Z/19/Z.
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Birth length
Timeframe: 24 hours after birth
Attained linear growth and growth velocity
Timeframe: 5 months (+/- 1 week) post partum