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Is it time to replace iron folate supplements in pregnancy with multiple micronutrients?
Zulfiqar A Bhutta1, Aamer Imdad, Usha Ramakrishnan
1Division of Women & Child Health, The Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan. zulfiqar.bhutta@aku.edu
Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology
|June 30, 2012
Summary
Multiple micronutrient supplements show no additional benefit over standard iron-folate supplements for reducing maternal anemia in late pregnancy. Further research is needed to explore other potential benefits and risks.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Maternal Health
- Nutritional Science
Background:
- Anaemia affects 1.62 billion globally, contributing significantly to maternal mortality.
- Micronutrient deficiencies are prevalent in developing countries, necessitating effective supplementation strategies.
- Current supplementation often focuses on iron-folate, but multiple micronutrients may offer broader benefits.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the impact of multiple micronutrient supplements versus iron-folate supplements on maternal anaemia.
- To compare the efficacy of different prenatal supplementation regimens on maternal haemoglobin levels.
Main Methods:
- Systematic review of randomized controlled trials.
- Searches conducted in PubMed, Cochrane Library, and WHO Regional Databases.
- Primary outcomes: maternal anaemia and haemoglobin levels.
Main Results:
- No significant difference in maternal anaemia rates between multiple micronutrient and iron-folate groups in the third trimester (RR 1.03; 95% CI 0.94, 1.12).
- Haemoglobin levels showed similar trends between the groups.
- Seven studies were included for data abstraction.
Conclusions:
- Multiple micronutrient supplementation offers comparable effects on maternal anaemia to standard iron-folate supplementation.
- Other benefits of multiple micronutrients, like fetal growth, warrant further investigation.
- Large-scale trials are recommended to resolve potential risks, such as neonatal mortality.
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