Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2009 Jul-Aug;51(4):327-35.
doi: 10.1590/s0036-36342009000400010.

Prenatal multiple micronutrient supplementation impact on biochemical indicators during pregnancy and postpartum

Armando García-Guerra  1 , Lynnette M Neufeld, Sonia Hernández-Cordero, Juan Rivera, Reynaldo Martorell, Usha Ramakrishnan
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Prenatal multiple micronutrient supplementation impact on biochemical indicators during pregnancy and postpartum

Armando García-Guerra et al. Salud Publica Mex. 2009 Jul-Aug.

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this analysis was to test the impact of daily supplementation with multiple micronutrients (MM) during pregnancy on Zn, vitamin A and folate status compared to iron only (Fe).

Material and methods: The study was carried out during 1997-2000 in a semi-urban community in Morelos state, Mexico. Women were randomly assigned to MM (n= 249) or Fe (n= 258) and received supplements daily (6 d/wk) under supervision by the field team from recruitment (approximately 9 weeks pregnancy) until delivery. Blood samples were collected on a sub-sample of women at baseline, 32 weeks pregnancy and one month postpartum (1PP) and assessed for serum zinc, retinol and whole blood folate (baseline and 1PP only). A breast milk sample was extracted at 1PP and assessed for retinol content.

Result: At baseline there was no significant difference between supplementation groups in mean Zn, retinol or folate concentrations or the prevalence of deficiencies (Zn 12.2%, vitamin A 2.8%, folate 5.3%). Mean change in Zn and retinol concentrations from baseline to 32 weeks pregnancy did not differ between groups or between baseline and 1PP for Zn, retinol or folate. At 1PP, there was a tendency (p= 0.09) towards a lower prevalence of folate deficiency/depletion in the MM group (10.0%) than the Fe group (18.5%).

Conclusions: MM supplementation during pregnancy did not improve zinc or vitamin A status compared to Fe only. There is some indication that folate status may have improved with MM supplementation despite low prevalence of deficiency. While lack of response in serum retinol may be explained by generally adequate status, the lack of impact on zinc status requires further exploration.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

Publication types

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources