Vitamins During Pregnancy Equals Healthier Babies
http://content.nejm.org.ezproxy.tamu.edu:2048/cgi/content/full/356/14/1423
In this study, HIV negative women in Tanzania were invited to participate in a study in which half were given a multivitamin and the rest were given a placebo. All were given iron and folic acid and receive the standard prenatal care. A total of 8428 women were studied (8468 enrolled, but 40 were not eligible for some reason or another). The vitamin had 20 mg of vitamin B1, 20 mg of vitamin B2, 25 mg of vitamin B6, 100 mg of niacin, 50 µg of vitamin B12, 500 mg of vitamin C, 30 mg of vitamin E, and 0.8 mg of folic acid. Most of these values were well over two times the usual dietary allowance. The results showed improvement in area of the health of the baby at delivery, especially in birthweight, but not in the fetal outcome overall; meaning that the rate of preterm birth and fetal death remained the same in both groups. The study was then compared to another one that occurred also in Tanzania, but on HIV positive women that showed the same results, but the magnitude of the benefit was larger. It went on the discuss reasons that multivitamins help birth outcomes including making the mother less prone to intrauterine infections and keeping the mother's hemoglobin levels high. Vitamin C also helps in the absorption of iron which is beneficial in pregnancy. As of now, UNICEF provides folic acid and iron supplements to developing countries at a cost of $1 per woman for the whole pregnancy. This cost would increase 20% with addition of a full multivitamin, making it a cost effective approach to improving the health of babies born in the developing world.
In this study, HIV negative women in Tanzania were invited to participate in a study in which half were given a multivitamin and the rest were given a placebo. All were given iron and folic acid and receive the standard prenatal care. A total of 8428 women were studied (8468 enrolled, but 40 were not eligible for some reason or another). The vitamin had 20 mg of vitamin B1, 20 mg of vitamin B2, 25 mg of vitamin B6, 100 mg of niacin, 50 µg of vitamin B12, 500 mg of vitamin C, 30 mg of vitamin E, and 0.8 mg of folic acid. Most of these values were well over two times the usual dietary allowance. The results showed improvement in area of the health of the baby at delivery, especially in birthweight, but not in the fetal outcome overall; meaning that the rate of preterm birth and fetal death remained the same in both groups. The study was then compared to another one that occurred also in Tanzania, but on HIV positive women that showed the same results, but the magnitude of the benefit was larger. It went on the discuss reasons that multivitamins help birth outcomes including making the mother less prone to intrauterine infections and keeping the mother's hemoglobin levels high. Vitamin C also helps in the absorption of iron which is beneficial in pregnancy. As of now, UNICEF provides folic acid and iron supplements to developing countries at a cost of $1 per woman for the whole pregnancy. This cost would increase 20% with addition of a full multivitamin, making it a cost effective approach to improving the health of babies born in the developing world.
posted by Maria Catanach at 9:30 PM
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