Prenatal Vitamins Help Reduce Risk of Giving Birth to Vulnerable Newborns
Multiple micronutrient supplements showed the greatest impact on reducing the risk of giving birth to small vulnerable newborns.
Certain kinds of prenatal vitamins could help reduce the risk of giving birth to small vulnerable newborns, according to a study published in the Lancet Global Health.1 Although the extent of the effects varied, the authors said that the findings underscore the importance of nutritional supplements in prenatal care.
Prenatal Vitamins Help Reduce Risk of Giving Birth to Vulnerable Newborns / Lena Ivanova - stock.adobe.com
During pregnancy, there is an increased demand for nutrition and vitamins that may be difficult to attain through diet alone. Prenatal supplements—which usually include vitamins like calcium, iron, folic acid, and vitamin D—help support a healthy pregnancy and baby.2 However, there has been a lack of data on how prenatal vitamins impact the risk of giving birth to small vulnerable newborns.
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“Small vulnerable newborn types may have distinct mechanisms, health impacts, and intervention strategies,” Dongqing Wang, assistant professor of Global and Community Health at George Mason’s College of Public Health, said in a release.3 “This work is the first to examine the effects of prenatal multiple micronutrient supplements (MMS) and small-quantity lipid-based nutrient supplements (SQ-LNS) on the emerging outcomes of small vulnerable newborns.”
A team of investigators conducted a metanalysis to assess the effects of prenatal MMS and SQ-LNS on small vulnerable newborns. Data for the study was gathered from a search of PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science for studies published between January 1, 2000, and December 31, 2021. The metanalysis included 14 studies for the analysis of prenatal MMS and 4 studies for prenatal SQ-LNS.
Studies were included in the metanalysis if they were randomized controlled trials, were at least partially conducted in a low-income, lower-middle-income, or upper-middle-income economy, and if the supplement could be provided alone or in combination with a co-intervention that was similar across study groups.
In total, the studies in the metanalysis included 42618 patients in the MMS analysis and 6246 patients in the SQ-LNS analysis. The study found that prenatal MMS led to a 27% lower risk of giving birth to a neonate who is preterm–small for gestational age-low birth rate, an 18% lower risk of preterm–appropriate for gestational age-low birth weight, an 11% lower risk of preterm–appropriate for gestational age-non-low birth weight, a 9% lower risk of term–small for gestational age-low birth weight, and a 5% lower risk of term–small for gestational age-non-low birth weight.
Additionally, prenatal SQ-LNS led to a 22% lower risk of giving birth to a preterm–large for gestational age–non-low body weight neonate. However, SQ-LNS did not appear to have a significant impact on other small vulnerable newborns.
Study limitations include the potential for sparse-data bias, the potential for measurement errors for small for gestational age–preterm birth outcomes, that multiple comparisons were not adjusted for, that the analysis of SQ-LNS included only 4 studies, and that there was a high percentage of patients with missing outcome data.
“This study underscores the important promise of nutritional supplements in prenatal care in low- and middle-income countries,” said Wang in a release.3 “In particular, the protective effects of prenatal multiple micronutrients on most small vulnerable newborn types, particularly those with the greatest mortality risk, strongly supports switching from iron and folic acid supplements to MMS as the standard care.”
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References
1. Wang D, Liu E, Perumal N, et al. Gestational Weight Gain Pooling Project Consortium. The effects of prenatal multiple micronutrient supplementation and small-quantity lipid-based nutrient supplementation on small vulnerable newborn types in low-income and middle-income countries: a meta-analysis of individual participant data. Lancet Glob Health. 2025 Feb;13(2):e298-e308. doi: 10.1016/S2214-109X(24)00449-2. PMID: 39890230; PMCID: PMC11782989.
2. Pregnancy week by week. Mayo Clinic. April 19, 2024. Accessed February 12, 2024. https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/pregnancy-week-by-week/in-depth/prenatal-vitamins/art-20046945
3. First-of-its-kind research identifies beneficial prenatal vitamins to reduce risk of infant death. News Release. George Mason University. January 30, 2025. Accessed February 12, 2025. https://publichealth.gmu.edu/news/2025-01/first-its-kind-research-identifies-beneficial-prenatal-vitamins-reduce-risk-infant-0
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