The World Health Organization recommends deworming to reduce soil-transmitted helminth (STH)-attributable morbidity in women of reproductive age, including pregnant and lactating women, to reduce blood loss, iron deficiency anaemia and nutrient malabsorption. This study assessed the impact of maternal postpartum deworming with albendazole approximately 1 day after delivery on infant milk intake among a subset of 216 randomly selected mother-infant pairs recruited into a large trial in Peru. Infant milk intake was measured using the deuterium-oxide method at 1- and 6-month postpartum.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Nutritional interventions targeting the critical growth and development period before two years of age can have the greatest impact on health trajectories over the life course. Compelling evidence has demonstrated that interventions investing in maternal health in the first 1000 days of life are beneficial for both mothers and their children. One such potential intervention is deworming integrated into maternal postpartum care in areas where soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections are endemic.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLarge-scale deworming interventions, using anthelminthic drugs, are recommended in areas where the prevalence of soil-transmitted helminth infection is high. Anthelminthic safety has been established primarily in school-age children. Our objective was to provide evidence on adverse events from anthelminthic use in early childhood.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: There is a knowledge gap on the effect of early childhood deworming on development in low- and middle-income countries. This evidence is important in the critical window of growth and development before two years of age.
Methods: A randomized controlled trial of the benefit, and optimal timing and frequency, of deworming on development was conducted in Iquitos, Peru.
Background: Appropriate health and nutrition interventions to prevent long-term adverse effects in children are necessary before two years of age. One such intervention may include population-based deworming, recommended as of 12 months of age by the World Health Organization in soil-transmitted helminth (STH)-endemic areas; however, the benefit of deworming has been understudied in early preschool-age children.
Methodology/principal Findings: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was conducted to determine the effect of deworming (500 mg single-dose crushed mebendazole tablet) on growth in one-year-old children in Iquitos, Peru.