Intervention and procedures
The composition and daily dose of the pre- and postnatal BEP intervention supplements were identical; only the duration of supplementation differed. The BEP supplement, an LNS in the form of an energy-dense peanut paste fortified with multiple micronutrients, was selected based on a two-phase formative study conducted in the same study community [Once enrolled, women were assigned to the study’s village-based project workers, who were responsible for conducting daily home visits to provide the supplements and conduct compliance assessment through direct observation of supplement intake. During these visits, pregnant women were encouraged to attend all antenatal care visits, give birth at the health center, and attend monthly postnatal health center visits. Furthermore, the importance of a healthy diet during pregnancy, as well as the importance of optimal infant feeding practices, was discussed. Supervision of village-based workers was conducted on monthly bases throughout the study using a Lot Quality Assurance Sampling scheme and empty sachet counts to ensure that study participants were visited according to the project protocol.After delivery, mothers were invited to attend monthly growth monitoring sessions organized by study midwives at their nearest health center until all study children reached the age of 6 months. Subsample of children who were born earlier in the study cohort had a continued followed-up through home visits at approximately 9 months (