When Cassie Maye was pregnant and searching online for information about what to eat, she found herself overwhelmed by the volume of content.
“There are heaps of information that is out online but a lot of it can be misleading,” Ms Maye said.
“It’s really overwhelming for new parents, and new mums especially.”
Then she found out about a new program in Canberra offering nutritional guidance to mothers throughout their child’s first 1,000 days.
“Some [online information] can be really valuable and helpful,” she said.
“[But] other stuff can be a bit misleading or make you feel like you need a lot of products or different things to be able to start that journey.”
Mothers including Ms Maye meet for free one hour sessions at three crucial stages of their child’s development.
The first stage looks at the second trimester of pregnancy, when expectant mothers work with dieticians to support them and their growing fetuses.
The second looks at introducing solids, and the third explores the transition to family food.
Feeding babies ‘should not be difficult’
Leanne Elliston, a nutritionist and one of the program leads, said expectant mothers need to be thinking about their child’s nutrition from pregnancy.
“The food that mum consumes during her pregnancy plays an incredible role in the developing fetus to make sure that baby reaches its fullest potential,” she said.
“The first 1,000 days are an incredible window of opportunity where we can actually make a difference in setting up children’s health and their long-term health trajectory.”
The Feeding Healthy Futures program is run by Nutrition Australia ACT, as part of the government’s Healthy Canberra Grants initiative.
Around 70 mothers are part of five different cohorts spread across Canberra, including in Gungahlin and Woden.
Organizers plan to follow participants through each of the three stages, and collect data through surveys on how effective the interventions have been.
At the sessions, mothers are given material about what food groups and nutrients are important for them and their child at each stage of development, food safety advice, allergen information, breastfeeding support, and tips on what to eat, as well as what not to eat.
Common myths are also dispelled, such as the idea that pregnancy means mothers need to ‘eat enough food for two people’, which is not the case.
“There are so many myths and misconceptions in society around food and nutrition, both during pregnancy and also in the early stages of introducing solids,” Ms Elliston said.
“We want to make sure [mothers] are setting up for success – getting the right advice from an accredited and practicing dietician that presents evidence-based information.
“Feeding young babies and young children should not be difficult – we have been doing it for millennia.”
Misinformation and influencers cause some parents unnecessary stress
Ms Maye and her six-month-old daughter Maggie have just attended the second stage of the program.
She said her social media feed during pregnancy was full of content from influencers telling her she needed specific food products for her infant and later toddler.
“You get bombarded with so many things and really you just got to go with your gut and intuition sometimes and [the course] really helps you build that,” Ms Maye said.
Ms Elliston said a lot of parents and expecting parents are getting information online and through social media.
She pointed to a recent example of mothers being convinced online they needed to buy special ‘toddlers milk’, as just one instance of parents being influenced to buy products that “just aren’t necessary”.
“Often they are putting out online or through influencers that are not appropriately educated. They may not have any scientific nutrition background,” she said.
“It is really concerning when some people pick up that information and think they are doing the right thing for their child, when in actual fact, they could be setting up more harm in the future.”
Ms Elliston said it also causes parents unnecessary stress.
“Sometimes parents can be under pressure from the likes of influencers and what they see online that they have to be going a certain way about it,” she said.
The final stage of the project, when the children are toddlers, is due to be held later this year.
Ms Elliston said the program has already had positive feedback from parents who have said they are benefiting from the advice.