Munira Gets Support and Guidance for her Fourth Child

By Patience Obour – Promoting Good Nutrition Program Officer

Munira and her healthy baby.

Munira, a mother of three children, joined Self-Help International’s Growing Healthy Food, Growing Healthy Children (GHFGHC) program in Ghana when she was pregnant with her fourth child. Munira joined the program because of encouragement from a friend who was already enrolled.

Self-Help’s nutritionists in Ghana work with program participants to ensure they are receiving the nutrients they need while pregnant to ensure they stay healthy and can have a healthy birth for their child. Self-Help provides a high-protein porridge supplement to expecting mothers in case they are experiencing any challenges accessing food at home and demonstrates recipes for how they can use locally available foods to prepare healthy & nutritious meals at a low-cost.

“Before I joined the program I was always told at the hospital during my prenatal care visits that I have a low hemoglobin, but I didn’t understand it’s implication on my baby,” Munira said. “I didn’t know it could lower my baby’s birth weight. All three of my other children had low birth weights as well.”

Self-Help’s nutrition team explained to Munira the implication of low hemoglobin levels on unborn babies and how Munira could use locally available foods to help increase her hemoglobin.

After going through the GHFGHC program, Munira said, “Being part of the program was a great opportunity for me. I gave birth to a healthy baby girl.”

“Due to Self-Help’s nutritional support and their guidance and services provided to me before labor, my fourth child was born at a healthy weight,” Munira added.