Maternal nutrition, supported by extra dietary and micronutrient intake during lactation, improves micronutrient status in mothers and slightly increases ferritin and vitamin A levels in their newborns at 6 months.
In a new study, providing lactating mothers with 600 kcal of energy, 20 g of protein, and daily micronutrient tablets led to significant increases in key micronutrients for both mothers and infants.
The goal was to evaluate the effect of nutritional and multiple-micronutrient supplementation in breastfeeding mothers on the micronutrient status of both mothers and their infants at 6 months postpartum.
This randomized controlled trial involved 600 mother–infant pairs, with blood samples collected from both mothers and their neonates at 6 months postpartum. The study assessed the levels of essential micronutrients including vitamins A, D, B12, ferritin, zinc, and folate in both mothers and infants.
Maternal serum levels of vitamin D (mean difference [MD] 1·03 ng/ml), folate (MD 3·3 ng/ml), retinol (MD 0·6 μmol/l), and ferritin (MD 14·7 ng/ml) showed significant improvements. Infants in the intervention group exhibited increased vitamin A (MD 0·2 μmol/l) and serum ferritin (MD 8·9 ng/ml) levels. Hence, supplementation of maternal nutrition during breastfeeding period improves the micronutrient status of both mothers and infants. These findings highlighted the importance of nutritional interventions to boost the health of mother–infant pairs and carry significant public health implications.
Cambridge University Press
Impact of nutritional and multiple micronutrients supplementation to lactating mothers 6 months postpartum on the maternal and infant micronutrient status: a randomised controlled trial in Delhi, India
Rukman Manapurath et al.
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