Colostrumis ‘the first milk secreted at the time of parturition, differing from the milk secreted later, by containing more lactalbumin and lactoprotein, and also being rich in antibodies that confer passive immunity to the newborn, also called “foremilk”. Human Colostrum (HC) and Bovine Colostrum (BC) are rich in protein, immunoglobulin, lactoferrin and growth factors. Recent studies suggest that colostrum components, immunoglobulin and growth factor benefits physically active personandin treatment of autoimmune disorders.It isused for the treatment of a wide variety of gastrointestinal conditions, including non-steroidalanti-inflammatory drug–induced gut injury, H pylori infection,immunedeficiency related diarrhea as well as infective diarrhea. This review explores the current knowledge on the beneficial effect of colostrum supplementation in the above condition.

The present cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted to assess the nutritional status, maternal haemoglobin concentration, anthropometric details and its association with neonatal anthropometry. 200 pregnant women aged 18-37 years in the gestational age of 27-41 weeks, without any co-morbidity and having a complete medical record were included in the study. Pregnant women who were in labour in the maternity ward and had visited the tertiary centre in Mumbai for antenatal checkups were enrolled for the study. Predesigned, pretested questionnaire was used to obtain sociodemographic and pregnancy details along with 24-hour dietary recall taken prior to delivery. Maternal and neonatal anthropometry was measured by trained personnel using standardized techniques. Haemoglobin concentration prior to delivery and postpartum, birth weight and length was obtained from the hospital record. Analyses were performed using SPSS software (version 16.0) to determine the effect of nutritional status on birth outcome. P-value <0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. The mean maternal anthropometric details were height-153.13±10.39cm, postpartum weight-57.02±11.57kg, postpartum BMI-24.29±3.54kg/m 2 , haemoglobin concentration prior to delivery-11.19±1.78g/dL and post-partum-9.97±1.68g/dL. The mean neonatal birth weight was 2.77±0.50kg though 22.3% neonates had low birth weight (<2.5kg). The mean neonatal anthropometric details were length-45.72±1.14cm, MUAC-10.48±1.14cm, ponderal index-2.88±0.43g/cm 3 and MUAC/Head circumference-0.31±0.03. However, women (≥28 years) were older (+2.46 years), weighed more both pre-and post-partum and also had a higher interpregnancy interval (+1.3 years) and gravida as compared to women (≤27 years) (p<0.05). Birth outcome was influenced by maternal height, weight, postpartum BMI, haemoglobin levels prior to delivery, gestational age and nutrient intake particularly energy, protein, vitamin C and calcium. Maternal diet prior to pregnancy and during pregnancy along with maternal anthropometry, haemoglobin concentrations prior to delivery and gestational age greatly influences birth outcome. Thus, attention has to be given to nutrition of an adolescent girl by proper nutrition education, pre-pregnancy counseling which will help in better pregnancy outcome.

In the present study the iodine status of 300 adolescent boys and girls was assessed by clinical examination and biochemical tests. The clinical examination revealed the total goitre rate (TGR) to be 65.2% among boys, and 69.6% among girls. The visible goitre rate (VGR) was 17.7% among boys and 21.1% among girls. Nutritional status of all adolescents was found to be poor as compared to their well-nourished counterparts. Using discriminant analysis it was found that age, height and weight of the adolescents were significantly related to goitre grade (p < 0.001), and they are important in prediction of goitre. Mild and moderate iodine deficiency were found to be prevalent among the adolescents. On the basis of urinary iodine/creatinine ratio, 38% of the adolescents were found to be suffering from mild iodine deficiency, i.e. average urinary iodine excretion between 50-100 mcg iodine/g creatinine. Moderate iodine deficiency (< 50 mcg iodine/g creatinine) was found to be prevalent among 12.4% of the adolescents. The results of this study indicate a high prevalence of mild and moderate IDD among the adolescents studied.

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The present cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted at the paediatric OPD of a government and a private clinic to assess the indicators of Infant-and Young Child-feeding (IYCF) practices and compare them among lower middle and upper middle socioeconomic groups. The study enrolled 200 mother-child pairs with children aged 18-36 months, classified using Modified Kuppuswamy scale into Lower Middle Socioeconomic Group (LMSEG) (score: 11-15) and Upper Middle Socioeconomic Group (UMSEG) (score:16-25). IYCF indicators formed the basis of the questionnaire used to interview the mothers. This calculated the children's dietary diversity score, meal frequency and IYCF index. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS software (version 16.0) to determine the effect on socio-economic status on IYCF practices. P-value <0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. Only 52.5% (n=105) infant were exclusively breastfed for the first six months of life with significant difference between the two socioeconomic strata, with 64% (n=64) from LMSEG and 41% (n=41) from UMSEG (p=0.01). 67% (n=67) infants from LMSEG received breast milk till two years in contrast to 44% (n=44) infants from UMSEG (p=0.01). However, a higher frequency of food intake (p=0.03) and higher minimum dietary diversity score (p=0.012) was observed among UMSEG as compared to LMSEG. UMSEG mothers had greater prevalence of using bottles to feed their children as compared to LMSEG (n=51 vs n=27). Besides, it was found that educational qualification of the mothers had a positive impact on IYCF practices (p=0.015) but the mother's employment or the child's birth order had no significant effect. IYCF practices differed significantly among the two socioeconomic groups. LMSEG have better qualitative practices and UMSEG showed better quantitative factors. Health education as well as digital media may serve as important intervention programs to spread awareness to protect, promote and sustain optimal IYCF practices in Indian context.