2010-03-15   Maternal Folic & Iron -Better Baby Survival

Taking folic acid and iron supplements during pregnancy may reduce infant mortality up to age 7, suggests new research from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Supplements of iron and folic acid reduced infant mortality by 31 percent, according to findings published in the American Journal of Epidemiology. Furthermore, the supplements reduced the prevalence of low birth weight by 16 percent and the prevalence of maternal anemia during pregnancy and after the birth period by 50 per cent.

"To our knowledge this is the first time the long-term effects of maternal iron-folic supplementation on childhood survival have been examined," said lead researcher Parul Christian.

"A reduction in mortality resulting from an intervention, such as iron-folic supplementation during pregnancy, provides a new and previously unreported evidence of benefit to offspring during childhood," added Christian.

About 40 per cent of pregnant women worldwide are estimated to be anemic. Despite the existence of an international policy for antenatal iron-folic acid supplementation, women in many developing countries fail to receive the necessary micronutrients, say the researchers.