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The University of Southampton
Medicine

International collaboration to improve maternal health advice given to people in South East Asia

Published: 26 October 2018
Maternal health e-learning programm
International collaboration to improve maternal health advice given to people in South East Asia

Maternal health researchers from the University of Southampton are taking part in an international collaboration to improve the information and advice given to parents in South East Asia before and during pregnancy.

The first 1,000 days of life, from conception until the age of two, is considered a window of opportunity to establish life-long health and well-being for the child. Ensuring both parents are as healthy as possible and lead an active lifestyle will help their future children lead healthier lives and have a reduced risk of developing non-communicable diseases in adulthood such as obesity, diabetes, and hypertension.

The Early Nutrition eAcademy Southeast Asia (ENeA SEA) has been developing an e-learning curriculum on early-life nutrition for physicians, nurses, dieticians, and other health practitioners who work with mothers, infants, and young children in South East Asia.

It is the first time an educational programme of this nature has been developed and is funded by the Erasmus+ program of the European Union.

The eLearning platform is tailored to the individual healthcare professional’s experience and consists of four initial modules: Nutrition and Lifestyle in Pregnancy, Breastfeeding, Breast Milk Substitutes and Nutritional Care of Preterm Infants. Further modules entitled Identification and Management of Malnutrition and Complementary Feeding will be available soon.

The platform was launched at the Proper nutrition during the first 1,000 days for healthy and prosperous future international public symposium at Mahidol University in Thailand on 27th October 2018.

Associate Professor Dr Sunhea Choi from the Unviersity of Southampton helped develop the programme. She said: “Good nutrition before, during and in the months after pregnancy can have lasting benefits for the health of the next generation. To date no programme has provided healthcare professionals with the knowledge needed for effective counselling in their contacts with women and young families before and during pregnancy. ENeA SEA will fill this gap through an evidence-based, unbiased and freely accessible e-learning programme suitable for practicing health care professionals.”

Professor Keith Godfrey, from the University of Southampton who is also involved in the project with the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich, added: “Working with partners in Thailand and Malaysia, ENeA SEA has adapted our successful European eLearning initiatives to contribute to improving early life nutrition practical counselling competencies and clinical practice in SE Asia. This supports national and regional ambitions in reducing the “double burden” of malnutrition and obesity that arises through suboptimal early nutrition and is a major source of public health concern.”

Other institutions involved in the project are Mahidol University in Thailand, Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich, Germany; University of Malaya and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia in Malaysia; Chulalongkorn University in Thailand; Politehnica University of Bucharest in Romania; the Nutrition Society of Malaysia, and the Nutrition Association of Thailand under the Patronage of Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn. 

For more information about ENeA SEA project visit: www.enea-sea.eu.

 

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