Evaluation of vitamin A status during pregnancy

Adequate maternal vitamin A nutrition is essential for successful pregnancy outcome and estimation of serum retinol among pregnant women enables a precise and objective assessment of vitamin A status, during pregnancy, even in subclinical state. In order to evaluate vitamin A status during pregnancy, and its relationship with personal and pregnancy related variables of the mother, 300 antenatal clinic attenders were interviewed at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, Calcutta and tested for serum retinol, using Carr-Price test. Serum retinol values less than 30 microg/dl and 20 microg/dl, in this study, were considered as poor and severe vitamin A deficiency respectively. According to this 14.7% and 4% pregnant women were found to be suffering from poor and severe vitamin A deficiency respectively. Clinical signs of vitamin A deficiency (eg, nightblindness) were reported only among 60% cases of the deficient population. The problems of vitamin A deficiency were associated with low literacy and poor nutritional status of the mother, advanced gestational age of current pregnancy,increased number of pregnancies, shorter interval between births and poor dietary intake of vitamin A rich foods during pregnancy. The study thus raises the question of supplementation of vitamin A, during pregnancy, in Indian context where habitual diets are either inadequate or deficient in vitamin A.