Page 198 - Health, Population and Environment Education 10

six months, only mother’s milk is not sufficient for a baby. Hence, the baby should be
provided with supplementary food along with mother’s milk. She must feed her breast
milk at least 2 years of age. Once the child is of 2 years, he/she can have normal food like
that of other family members. The following chart shows the nutrition required for a baby
since birth till 2 years of age.

Age Food
(0 – 6)months Mother’s milk

(6 – 7) months Mother’s milk, lito, mashed curry
(7 – 9) months Mother’s milk, lito, mashed, curry and soft fruits

(9 – 12) months Mother’s milk, lito, soft pulse, rice, curry and soft fruits.
(1 – 2) years Mother’s milk, cereals, legumes, lito, soft pulse, rice, green leafy
vegetables, fish, meat, eggs, milk and milk products, etc.

B. Supplementary Food
The extra food provided to baby except mother’s milk is called as supplementary food.
After 6 months, only mother’s milk is not sufficient for the optimum health and proper
development of baby. Hence, the baby should be given supplementary food along with
the mother’s milk. Initially, the baby can be fed with liquid and solid diet. He/she can be
given lito. In the rural areas, lito is prepared by mixing various cereals and legumes like
rice, wheat, maize, soyabeans, gram, etc. They are mixed in certain proportion and later
on grinded as powder. Then such lito is provided to baby based on requirement. But, in
the urban areas, there is availability of instant food like cerelac, lactogen, etc. which can
be given to baby based on requirement as supplementary food. With the growing age,
baby should be given various types of fruits, vegetables, meat, egg, fish, milk and milk
products along with the mother’s milk. The supplementary food should be added along
with the weight and age of a baby.

C. Immunization
Every child is a valuable property of family. It is very important for every parent that a child
becomes healthy and free from diseases. The health of infant is critical as immune system
is under developed and weak. Hence, infant can suffer from various types of diseases like
tuberculosis, polio, diptheria, pertusis, tetanus, hepatitis, measles, etc. There has been
invention of vaccines to protect against all those diseases. Vaccines act as protecting shield
against several diseases. They are given by injection. Some are given orally as well. Polio
is given orally in the form of drops. It is most essential to immunize children timely. It has
been observed that children who are vaccinated have proper development of body and
optimum health than the children who are not immunized. Immunization should be given
in a given schedule. The government of Nepal has made provision of free immunization
from concerned hospitals, health centres, health posts etc. through out Nepal.

198 GREEN Health, Population and Environment Education Book-10