16 July 2013
According to a new review daily supplementation with iron during pregnancy reduces the risk of maternal anemia and low birth weight babies.
The meta-analysis included 92 randomized controlled trials and cohort studies, which investigated a potential dose-response relationship between iron intake, maternal anemia and low birth weight babies in almost two million people (1). The analysis showed that prenatal iron use was significantly associated with an increase in birth weight and reduction in risk of low birth weight. A dose-response relation was shown for higher iron dose as well as increasing mean hemoglobin concentration in the prenatal period and increasing birth weight. In addition, significant reductions in maternal anemia, iron deficiency and iron deficiency anemia with increa-sing iron intakes were observed: for every 10 mg increase in the daily iron dosage – up to 66 mg – the risk of maternal anemia was 12% lower, birth weight increased by 15 grams and risk of low birth weight de-creased by 3%. No reduction in risk of preterm birth as a result of iron use was shown.
The researchers concluded that use of iron by women during pregnancy may be applied as a preventive strategy to improve maternal hematological status and birth weight. Iron deficiency is the most widespread nutritional deficiency in the world, and is the most common cause of anemia during pregnancy. Future re-search should explore feasible strategies of iron delivery as well as evaluation of the effectiveness of other strategies, such as fortification and dietary diversification, the scientists suggested.
6 October 2016
In a new study, a group of low to middle income mothers (n=1,094) in Cuernavaca, Mexico who were supplemented with 400 mg of algal DHA omega-3 during the last half of pregnancy had children with higher scores on a test of cognitive function that measured sustained attention.
24 October 2018
In the coming decades, Medical Nutrition will help support the aging population, and people with acute and chronic conditions that require a specific diet or nutrition-related therapy. This latest Topic of the Month explores what Medical Nutrition is and who should use it.
5 March 2012
US researchers suggest, based on animal experiments, that dietary vitamin E in the form of gamma- and delta-tocopherol could be beneficial in reducing the risk of, and even treating, certain cancers. Experts criticized that animal models do not accurately reflect human metabolism and that cancer development depends on multiple factors.
