Background: Micronutrient deficiencies may contribute to a higher incidence of low birthweight (LBW). UNICEF/United Nations University/World Health Organization jointly proposed a formulation for a multiple micronutrient supplement for pregnant women, and several effectiveness trials were conducted to assess its impact.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of prenatal multiple micronutrient supplementation for improving birth size, pregnancy outcome, and maternal micronutrient status in comparison with iron-folic acid supplementation.

Methods: We carried out a cluster-randomized, controlled trial in Indramayu, Indonesia, involving 843 pregnant women. Of these, 432 received multiple micronutrients and 411 received iron-folic acid. Fieldworkers visited the women daily to observe supplement consumption and record fetal loss and mortality.

Results: The mean number of supplements consumed during pregnancy and 30 days postpartum was high (136 in the group receiving multiple micronutrients and 140 in the iron-folic acid group). The women consumed the supplements on average 5 days per week. Although there were no significant differences between the groups in the percentage of infants with LBW there was a trend toward a lower incidence of LBW in the group receiving multiple micronutrients (6.3% vs. 7.3%), and the mean birthweight was 40 g higher in the group receiving multiple micronutrients than in the iron-folic acid group, although the difference was not significant. Among those who consumed 90 or more supplements during pregnancy, women taking multiple micronutrients had a 3.3% combined rate of miscarriage, stillbirth, or neonatal death, as compared with 6.9% for those taking iron-folic acid only (p < .049). The anemia rates in the two groups were similar after supplementation, even though the amount of iron in the multiple micronutrient supplement was half that in the iron-folic acid supplement. Serum retinol was higher in the group receiving multiple micronutrients.

Conclusions: Multivitamin supplementation use among pregnant women is as effective as iron-folic acid in improving anemia status and appears to have other benefits for maternal and child nutritional status.