Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies: How Nutrition and Health Services Save Lives

By Katie Garcia

When families gather to celebrate holidays, we remember that nutritious food does more than sustain us. It brings us together and contributes to longer lives, flourishing communities, and prosperous economies. For mothers and babies, these benefits begin before birth. Access to proper nutrition between conception and a child’s second birthday, or their first 1,000 days, is critical for brain development and immune system resilience. Yet far too many children and their mothers suffer from malnutrition, which can have serious and lifelong impacts including stunting, wasting, impaired cognitive development, and weakened immunity.

Severe Hunger and Malnutrition Impact Women and Children

Globally, the World Health Organization reports that 150 million children under age five were stunted, and nearly 43 million were wasted in 2024. These are similar forms of severe malnutrition characterized by muscle and fat loss, and low height for the age of the child. According to World Food Program USA, 60 percent of the world’s hungriest people are women and 43 million children under five are severely hungry. Further, the Lancet’s research shows that nearly 70 percent of women of reproductive age and more than 50 percent of preschool-aged children have micronutrient deficiencies. This can lead to complications in pregnancy for mothers and delayed growth for babies and children. Poor nutrition during pregnancy and early childhood can affect a child’s ability to learn, stay healthy, and eventually earn a living. For mothers, it can lead to pre-term birth, complications with gestational diabetes, anemia, blood pressure issues, and more. Its consequences extend beyond individuals, limiting opportunities for families and communities, and undermining long-term economic development.

Solutions for Undernourished Mothers: Multiple Micronutrient Supplementation (MMS)

Some of the aforementioned conditions can be mitigated through relatively simple and affordable nutrition interventions. This includes investing in multiple micronutrient supplementation (MMS). These supplements provide essential vitamins and minerals during pregnancy and can reduce the risks of low birth weight, premature birth, and stillbirth, particularly among women who are undernourished.

Congress and the American people have an opportunity to support these critical interventions. The Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Act of 2026 (H.R. 9583) was introduced by Representative Young Kim (R-CA), with original co-sponsorship from Reps. Dina Titus (D-NV) and Mike Lawler (R-NY). This bill acknowledges that nourishing children begins with supporting mothers. This bipartisan bill focuses on expanding access to proven interventions that improve maternal and child health, including MMS during pregnancy, skilled birth attendance, treatment of common infections, and screening and treatment for malnutrition. As noted in the bill, “at just $4 per pregnancy, MMS prenatal vitamins combine 15 essential vitamins and minerals into a single, lifesaving tablet, dramatically improving birth outcomes and reducing maternal anemia. Despite the immense benefits, most women around the world lack access to modern prenatal vitamins.” By prioritizing practical, evidence-based solutions, this legislation aims to prevent avoidable deaths and give more mothers and children the opportunity to lead healthy lives.

Connection to Bread’s Nourish Our Future Campaign

When Bread for the World launched our Nourish Our Future campaign nearly two years ago, we focused our advocacy efforts on ending child hunger in the United States and around the world. We urged Congress to robustly fund global nutrition programs because we continue to believe that child hunger is solvable, especially through collective political will. Reaching mothers and children requires specific, targeted actions, including investments in functioning health systems, trained health workers, reliable supplies, sustained investment, and more. The Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Act, which Bread has endorsed, aims to do just this.

As noted by Representative Kim, the bill is a “smart, targeted, and cost-effective approach that saves lives while strengthening America’s leadership abroad. By scaling proven interventions, supporting American manufacturing, and partnering with countries committed to better outcomes, we are advancing U.S. interests and building a more stable world.” The Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Act would complement ongoing efforts by countries and international partners to expand access to proven maternal nutrition interventions, including MMS, building on existing commitments to improve prenatal care and maternal health services.

As we join in communion with our loved ones, let us remember that together, we can improve the lives of new mothers and young children around the world by supporting the Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Act. Expanding access to affordable nutrition interventions and quality prenatal care can help more women experience healthy pregnancies and give their children a stronger start in life. This holiday season, as we reflect on the nourishment we share with our own families, let us consider what it would mean to make that opportunity available to more families around the world, too. 

Katie Garcia is the Director of Bread for the World’s Policy and Research Institute (PRI).