Maternal Infant Young Child Nutrition - Family Planning (MIYCN-FP) Integration Toolkit

Agency for International Development. This toolkit aims to provide resources for advocates, policy makers, program managers, service providers, and other audiences to effectively integrate maternal, infant, and young child nutrition and family planning services. The toolkit focuses on the relationship between maternal, infant, and young child nutrition and family planning, highlighting the benefits of exclusive breastfeeding in the first six months after birth, which protects the infant from malnutrition and meets the mother's contraceptive needs if she practices the lactational amenorrhea method (LAM). The toolkit provides links to key global evidence on the relationship between MIYCN and FP, including recent research and synergies. One of the key findings is that too rapid childbearing (short birth-to-next-pregnancy intervals) poses substantial nutritional risks for children, increasing their risk for underweight and stunting. Research demonstrates that birth-to-pregnancy intervals less than 36 months are associated with stunting and underweight, while intervals less than 24 months are associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes, including neonatal, child, and maternal mortality, and poor pregnancy outcomes such as small for gestational age (SGA), preterm delivery, and delivery of a low-birthweight baby. The toolkit also highlights the importance of maternal nutrition, unintended pregnancy, and its effects on child health. It emphasizes the role of family planning in improving infant and young child nutrition, and provides resources for program managers to design, plan, implement, and scale up integrated programs and advocate for policy change. The toolkit includes a range of resources, including up-to-date global and country-specific background and reference materials, job aids, curricula, and publications that detail key implementation processes and lessons learned. These resources are intended to guide program managers, advocates, and policymakers in their efforts to integrate MIYCN and FP services. The toolkit is a dynamic resource that will be updated periodically to reflect new research findings. The collaborators invite users to contribute to evolving and enhancing the toolkit by suggesting resources or commenting on the content. The toolkit is available in electronic format, and users can access the resources through the navigation tabs above or by clicking on the title of the resource for more information.