Ibfan Africa Website

The IBFAN Africa network was founded in 1981, primarily to create effective changes in infant feeding practices, through networking and establishing working relationships with international agencies, governments and non-governmental and other organisations involved in Maternal, Women and Child Health (MWCH) and nutrition programmes to address concerns related to Code of marketing and breastfeeding.

Adolescent Page Contents

What is adolescence?
Nutrition for Adolescents
Adolescents and Sex
HIV and AIDS
Teen Pregnancy
Breastfeeding
Substance Abuse-Drugs And Alcohol

What is Adolescence?

Get The Facts Straight

• Adolescence or Puberty is a time of change, our bodies and our feelings change. Between age 11 and 18 we change from being a child into an adult.
• Girls start to menstruate, (monthly bleeding or periods), their breasts develop and hips get wider.
• Boys start to produce sperm, their penis grows bigger and their voices become deeper.
• Girls and boys grow taller, pubic hair grows around the sex organs and some of us get pimples on our faces.
• Our feelings change too. We get more independent and develop sexual feelings.

Something important to think about!

Try not to compare yourself to others, your body will change when it is ready.

Sexual feelings are normal, so you should not be afraid or worried about this.

Discuss with friends

Being a teenager is fun, but it can be a confusing and worrying time.

Make a better world

Make wise choices. It is your life, make sure you find out correct information before you make important choices, then no one can fool you with wrong information.

Remember!

You are a special person, believe in yourself and be confident.

Want to know more? Click here:

http://education.indiana.edu/cas/adol/adol.htm

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Nutrition for Adolescents

You are What You Eat

Get The Facts Straight

Good nutrition means eating enough of the correct foods to ensure not only survival, but good physical growth, mental development, health and well being.

Nutrition is important during adolescence because 20% of total growth in height and 50% of adult weight gain occurs during adolescence.

A healthy diet is one that includes foods from different groups of foods: foods high in protein include: Meat, fish, chicken, milk products, beans, groundnuts,bananas eggs.

Foods rich in carbohydrate include bread, porridge, cereals, potatoes.

Foods rich in Vitamins and Minerals: green leafy vegetables, orange and yellow fruits, citrus fruits.

Foods rich in fat include cooking oil and fried foods, butter and margarine, peanuts, oily fish, high fat dairy products such as cream.

The benefits of the different food groups

Carbohydrates and fats provide the body with energy and may be converted into body fat.

Proteins are needed for growth and repair of body cells and can also be converted into carbohydrates and used to provide energy.

The body also needs small amounts of vitamins and minerals such as iron and iodine, which help with growth and repair and help to regulate body processes.

Fibre is also necessary for good health. Foods that are high in fibre, such as cereals, vegetables and fruits, help to prevent constipation and reduce cholesterol (which can cause blockage of blood vessels) in the blood.

Vegetables and fruits are an important source of vitamins, minerals and fibre, so they are very good for us.

Important vitamins are vitamin A, b, C and folic acid. Important minerals are iron calcium and fluorine.

Water is very important for our body and we get water from the foods we eat as well as from drinks. We need to drink at least 1 litre of water or other fluid each day.

Is too much or too little food harmful?

While you need to eat sufficient amounts of food to stay strong and healthy, too much food can lead to overweight and obesity, which are unhealthy. Being overweight when you are an adolescent can continue into adulthood and result in health problems when you are older, such as high blood pressure and diabetes.

Exercise is important to keep your body healthy too. Regular exercise and a healthy (not too much of anything), diet are the secret to a healthy body and wellbeing. Sport is a good way to get exercise.

Some teenagers, especially girls, worry about how they look and are afraid to eat because they might put on weight. This can result in what are known as "eating disorders". A person can seriously damage their health when suffering from an eating disorder, when they deprive their bodies of the nutrients they need for survival and health.

The most common eating disorders affecting adolescents are:

1. Anorexia nervosa - a psychological problem whereby the person thinks that they are fat and they severely limit the amount they eat to try to loose weight. If this continues over a long period of time the person gets extremely thin and may die.
2. Bulimia - an eating disorder where the person has episodes of uncontrolled or "binge" eating in response to stress. Sometimes after a binge, the person will make himself or herself vomit to avoid putting on weight.

Eating orders are often a sign of poor self-esteem.

Girls are advised to eat green leafy vegetables and meat sources to increase their iron status because of the monthly menstruation.

Something important to think about!

Do you like the way you look?

What matters most is that you believe in yourself as a person, not just the "outside" you.

Discuss with friends

• Do you eat a healthy diet and get enough exercise?
• What is the ideal body in African culture? Can you do anything to change this belief?

Make a better world

Avoid eating "junk" foods. They usually have too much carbohydrate and fat in them, as well as other additives; (chemicals added to give colour or taste to food), which are not good for your body. They are usually quite expensive too! Examples of junk food are: cola drinks, hamburgers, fish & chips, buns and fries.

Of course an occasional hamburger or the like is not bad but it is not good to develop a habit of eating junk foods.

Remember!

When you eat a healthy diet and get regular exercise you will also perform better at school.

Want to know more? Click here:

http://omni.ac.uk/browse/mesn/detail/C0162630L1224118.html
http://www.globalgourmet.com/food/foodfun/fffdiet.html

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Adolescents And Sex

Get The Facts Straight

• Sex is special and it is best to wait until you feel ready before you have sex with someone.
• No one should force you to have sex.
• Young couples can have fun together without having penetrative sex.
• Penetrative sex is when a boy's penis is inside a girl's vagina during sex.
• If you have sex you should make sure you are protected from pregnancy, HIV/AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD's) - Practice Safe Sex.
• Safe sex means NO Sex and safer sex means using a condom.
• Contraceptives such as the Pill, the Injection or the Loop will help prevent an unwanted pregnancy, but will NOT stop STD's, HIV and AIDS.

Something important to think about!

• Are you ready for sex?
  • Do you really love this person?
  • Do you and your partner both want sex?
  • Have you talked about sex together?
  • Is this a long-term relationship?
  • Do you have protection from HIV, STD's and pregnancy?

Discuss with friends

• Is your local clinic friendly to young people? Can you easily get health information and condoms?

Make a better world

• Ask a health worker at your clinic to come and talk to your class about sexual and reproductive health issues.

Remember!

If you have questions, ask adults you can trust. Speak to a parent, teacher, health worker, a relative or older brother or sister.

Want to know more? Click here:

www.tarsc.org
www.auntiestella.org
http://www.sxetc.org/

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HIV and AIDS

Get The Facts Straight

HIV/AIDS is a strong virus that affects our immune system, which protects us from diseases. The immune system keeps us healthy by fighting off other viruses and diseases.

If you have the HIV virus in your body, it is called being HIV positive or HIV+.

HIV is mostly passed from one person to another through unprotected sex with another person who already has the HIV virus. Therefore HIV is also an STD.

Other ways that HIV is spread include; blood transfusions using untested blood; re-using needles or blades that have the blood of an infected person on them; or from HIV positive mother to baby during pregnancy or delivery. There is a small risk of mother-to-child transmission of HIV through breastfeeding.

HIV does not have any known cure yet. It stays in the body for a long time, while slowly damaging the immune system and eventually leading to AIDS.

It is not easy to see that someone has HIV, one can live with the infection for up to ten years before getting sick.

AIDS is the stage when a person's immune system is broken down by HIV and they begin to feel and look very sick.

When a person has AIDS they get many illnesses that their body cannot fight, they get very sick and eventually die.

People with AIDS can get one or more of these sicknesses: TB, pneumonia, diarrhoea, vomiting, severe weight loss, fevers and night sweats, mouth rashes and sores, or skin sores.

You cannot get HIV from kissing, hugging, coughing, laughing, holding hands, toilets, mosquitoes, sharing food and drink.

If you have sex without using a condom, the only way to know if you have or have not got HIV is by having a blood test.

Something important to think about!

It is important to have a partner you can trust however this will not protect you from HIV. Even if your partner is healthy now, they may have got HIV from the person that they were with before you and may not even know it. The only way to know for sure is to have an HIV test.

Discuss with friends

Would you go for an HIV test if you have had unsafe sex?

Do you know where you can go to have Counselling and Testing for HIV?

Make a better world

Knowing our HIV status helps us to protect others and ourselves from getting HIV.

If we know our HIV status and we already have the disease, there are things we can do to stay healthy such as taking good care of ourselves, eating a good diet and practicing safe sex.

If we know we are HIV negative we can make sure that we practice safe sex and stay negative.

Don't discriminate against people who are HIV+. Give care and support to those who are living with HIV and AIDS.

Remember!

HIV/AIDS is a reality, people are suffering and many young people like you are dying. Make sure you say NO to sex or at least NO to unsafe sex. Your choices will affect everyone's future.

Take care of your future; grow up to be healthy and alive!

Want to know more? Click here:

www.unaids.org/youngpeople/index.html
www.unaids.org/hivaidsinfo/faq/effect.html
www.avert.org/yrgindx.htm
www.abouthealth.com/topic_details.cfm?Topic_ID=6

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Teen Pregnancy

Get The Facts Straight

Getting pregnant when you are a teenager is usually not a good idea for many reasons:

• Your body is still growing and developing and not ready for pregnancy.
• Pregnancy is stressful for the body and if you are still growing, it is even more stressful.
• Looking after a baby is a big responsibility and one you should only undertake when you are ready physically, emotionally and financially.
• You may miss out on educational and other opportunities if you get pregnant and have a baby when you are too young. Many teen mothers have to drop out of school.
• Many teenage mothers find themselves in a poor financial situation, without enough money to pay for food, accommodation, clothes and health care.
• If you become pregnant it means you have been practicing unsafe sex and you may have been exposed to HIV or other STD's.

If you do get pregnant remember:

• You need to tell your parents, or another adult you trust - someone who can help you plan and make decisions about what you will do.
• Sometimes parents or family may not be supportive at first, but give them time to get used of the situation and most will do their best to help you.
• You will need to go to the clinic for antenatal care as early in the pregnancy as possible. Do not wait until late in the pregnancy.
• The clinic nurses will do some routine checks to make sure you and your baby are healthy. This will include checking your blood pressure, your urine and blood. They will also examine your abdomen to check the baby is growing well and when the baby has grown bigger they will check the baby's heartbeat.
• You should have these routine antenatal checks regularly throughout the pregnancy.
• You should eat a healthy diet during pregnancy, take gentle exercise and get plenty of rest.
• You will also be given some information on breastfeeding during the pregnancy, so that when your baby is born you can start breastfeeding immediately after delivery.
• You should learn as much as possible about breastfeeding, so that you already know how to position and attach the baby at the breast before the baby is born and that you know how to prevent getting sore nipples and other minor problems.
• Your baby will need breastmilk only for the first six months of life, after which you need to introduce solid foods, while continuing to breastfeed for at least two years.

Something important to think about!

• Being a teenager and pregnant is a difficult situation to find yourself in. You will need lots of support to help you through the pregnancy and birth of your baby. You will need to plan how you are going to manage to look after a baby and identify people or services that can help you.

Discuss with friends

• Some boys tell their girlfriends that they have to prove their love with sex. Do you agree?

Make a better world

• You have a right to say NO to sex. If you are being forced to have sex when you do not want it, you need to be strong and stand up for yourself. You have a choice. It is your life and you have the right to say no to protect yourself against pregnancy and STD's.

Remember!

• Having a baby when you are a teenager will change your life.

Want to know more? Click here:

http://dmoz.org/Health/Teen_Health/Teen_Pregnancy/
http://www.teenoutreachaz.org/

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Breastfeeding

Get The Facts Straight

1. Breastmilk is the perfect food for a human baby. It is made up of all the necessary ingredients, in the correct proportions, for a baby to grow well. It also contains other factors that are not found in artificial baby milks:
   • A special enzyme which helps to digest fat
   • Enough iron and a special substance which helps the baby absorb the iron, so a breastfed baby does not get anaemia
   • White blood cells which kill bacteria
   • Antibodies to many common infections which protect a baby until he can make his own antibodies.
2. The Benefits of breastfeeding for the baby include:
   • Breastfed babies are healthier and get sick less often.
   • Breastmilk provides all the food a baby needs for the first 6 months of life, after which it continues to provide a major portion of the infant's nutrition along with appropriate family foods, for up to two years and longer.
   • Breastfeeding helps the brain to grow and develop well.
   • Breastmilk is easily digested by the baby.
   • Breastmilk contains antibodies and other factors that protect the baby against diarrhoea and other infections.
   • Breastfed babies are protected from the dangers of artificial feeding including, diarrhoea and malnutrition that results from unhygienic preparation of artificial feeds, contaminated water and over or under-dilution of formula.
3. The Benefits of Breastfeeding for the Mother:
   • Breastmilk is clean, safe and cheap. The mother does not have to spend her money on baby milks.
   • Breastfeeding builds a close bond between mother and baby.
   • Breastfeeding has contraceptive benefits for the mother.
   • Breastfeeding helps stop bleeding after delivery and prevent iron deficiency anaemia.
   • Breastfeeding mothers have a lower risk of breast and ovarian cancer.
   • Breastfeeding costs less in terms of health care expenses, as breastfed infants get ill less often.
4. Benefits of Breastfeeding for the Community:
   • Human milk is a natural resource - a good cheap food.
   • Everyone benefits when there is less spending on health care when babies get sick less often.
   • Breastfeeding does not damage the environment; it does not generate any left over waste such as tins and plastics.
   • The country saves money when it does not have to import baby milks.
5. Breastfeeding mothers need help and support from health workers, family and community to successfully breastfeed.

Something important to think about!

Did you know that 1.5 million babies die each year because they are not breastfed!

Discuss with friends

How can you help support and promote breastfeeding in your community?

Make a better world

Invite a health worker to give a talk at your school on breastfeeding.

Have a school debate on Breastfeeding V's Artificial feeding

Remember!

Breastfeeding is Best Feeding

Want to know more? Click here:

www.waba.org.br/clube2.htm

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Substance Abuse - Drugs and Alcohol

Get The Facts Straight

What is a Drug? A drug is any chemical substance, legal or illegal, natural or synthetic, which, if taken, has a biological effect on that person.

Addictive Drugs include:

• Alcohol
• Tobacco
• Dagga (grass, joint, hash, marijuana, weed)
• Inhalants - Industrial and household substances, e.g. benzine, petrol, acetone, glue, turpentine, paint.
• Narcotics e.g. opium, heroin, morphine, codeine, pethidine.
• Ecstasy (MDMA)
• Cocaine (Coke, Snow)
• Appetite Suppressants
• LSD (Acid)
• Hypnotics - sleeping tablets, e.g. Amytal, Nembutal, Mandrax.
• Analgesics - pain tablets e.g. paracetamol, Beserol, Granpa powders.
• Tranquillizers e.g. Diazepam (Valium).

Drug Dependence means that a person has an uncontrollable urge to have that drug to satisfy a need and as a result of repetitive use the drug has damaged that individual either physically, socially or emotionally.

Dependence on a drug usually occurs over a period of time starting with experimental use, leading to occasional, then regular use, and resulting in dependence.

Drug or Substance Abuse is getting more common in young people all over the world and leads to an enormous amount of physical and mental illness as well as many deaths, which could be prevented.

Why do Adolescents take drugs? Many start because of "peer pressure" - all their friends are doing it, some try it for excitement or curiosity, and some out of boredom.

Drugs, including alcohol can give you a feeling of wellbeing, so some young people start using them to forget their problems. However, over time the person has to take increasing quantities of the drug to get the same feeling and the cycle of addiction begins.

Tobacco use has been proven to cause serious illness e.g. lung cancer later in life. Tobacco companies still try to sell their products to make money and they target young people in the hope that they will start smoking and become addicted.

Young people who abuse drugs or alcohol are in danger of; being hurt through accidents; suicide; violence; unwanted pregnancy; and sexually transmitted diseases, (including HIV). Drug and alcohol abuse also affects their education and causes physical and mental damage.

Young people who inject drugs are at high risk of serious infections such as hepatitis and HIV, because drug users tend to share needles. There is also a high risk of drug overdose and death because it is sometimes difficult for the drug addict to tell how strong the dose is that they are injecting into their body.

Research has shown that the younger you are when you start using drugs or alcohol, the more likely you are to become dependant in later life.

Drugs are expensive and a waste of money, but if you get addicted you will do anything to get the money to buy them, even steal, use violence or sell your body (prostitution).

Something important to think about!

Experimenting with drugs can very quickly lead to an addiction.

Discuss with friends

Young people who choose to use drugs are not solving their problems, just running away from them and damaging their health in the process.

Make a better world

• It is not "cool" to use drugs, so don't start just because others have.
• If you are bored, instead of using drugs, you should become involved in sport or other forms of healthy recreation.
• If you have a friend who is using drugs advise and help them to stop.
• Ask a health worker or counsellor to talk at your school about the dangers of drugs and alcohol.

Remember!

Drug users die young!

Want to know more? Click here:

www.stopdrugs.org
www.mediascope.org/index/
www.ncadd.org/youdir.html
www.nida.nih.gov/infofax/tobacco.html/
www.schoolwork.org/index.html
www.arf.org/isd/pim/list.html

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