Harnessing behavioral interventions to enhance micronutrient intake in pregnancy: A comprehensive review

Pregnancy is a pivotal moment in a woman's life, necessitating an increased focus on ensuring sufficient nutrition to promote both maternal wellbeing and fetal growth. During this period, it is crucial to emphasize the need for adequate micronutrients, including iron, calcium, and vitamin D. However, pregnant women worldwide continue to experience deficits in these essential nutrients, which increases the risk of adverse health outcomes for pregnant women and infants. Behavioral intervention presents a potentially practical approach to address this disparity by focusing on dietary modification and encouraging compliance with prescribed nutritional standards. This comprehensive review utilized a systematic literature review to collect pertinent material for the article from Scopus and Web of Science databases, ensuring scientific credibility, transparency, and comprehensiveness regarding behavioral interventions promoting increased iron, calcium, and vitamin D consumption among pregnant women. This review seeks to provide clinicians, researchers, and policymakers with information on practical techniques to enhance maternal and fetal health by improving food intake during pregnancy. Further, it will explore intervention strategies, efficacy, underlying processes, and future directions.