The First 1,000 Days: A Crucial Time for Mothers and Children—and the World

Journalist Thurow (senior fellow, Chicago Council on Global Affairs; The Last Hunger Season) presents the experiences of four mothers and their children in Uganda, India, Guatemala, and Chicago to demonstrate the variety of issues that affect mothers' ability to ensure their children reach their full potential. According to the World Health Organization, one out of four children under the age of five is "stunted" owing to poor nutrition, unclean environments, poverty, lack of health-care access, and poor caregiver simulation during the first 1,000 days of life. Getting nutrients to mothers and young children became a top development goal and led to the creation of the 1,000 Days movement in 2010. Among its goals is to reduce the number of stunted children under age five by 40 percent by 2025. Thurow notes that this book is "not an exercise in scientific or academic rigor; rather, it is a journalistic narrative built of anecdotes and observations and research, as well as story telling by the women and their families."