{Reference Type}: Journal Article
{Title}: Small Fish Big Impact: Improving Nutrition during Pregnancy and Lactation, and Empowerment for Marginalized Women.
{Author}: Saha M;Ng H;Odjidja EN;Saha M;Olivier P;McCaffrey TA;Thilsted SH;
{Journal}: Nutrients
{Volume}: 16
{Issue}: 12
{Year}: 2024 Jun 11
{Factor}: 6.706
{DOI}: 10.3390/nu16121829
{Abstract}: Undernutrition and micronutrient deficiencies such as anemia are considered significant public health challenges in Bangladesh, which enhancing fish consumption is a well-established food-based intervention to address these. This paper documents the establishment of community-based fish chutney production and reports the impact of its consumption on mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) and hemoglobin (Hb) levels among targeted 150 pregnant and lactating women (PLW) in rural Bangladesh. A fish chutney was developed using locally available ingredients followed by a series of laboratory tests, including nutrient composition, shelf-life and food safety. A community-based fish chutney production process was designed to: (1) supply locally available ingredients for processing; (2) establish two fish drying sites; (3) initiate a community-based production site; and (4) distribute fish chutney to PLW for one year by six women nutrition field facilitators. Then a pre- and post-intervention study was designed for a selected 150 PLW to receive 30 g of fish chutney daily for 12 months. Differences in mean MUAC and Hb levels pre- and post-consumption were analyzed using one-way analysis of variance. Consumption of 30 g of fish-chutney resulted in significant increases of the mean values of Hb levels and MUAC among the targeted PLW.