Written by Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS. Study has found that taking a multivitamin may be one of a low-cost intervention in preventing early infant mortality.
Despite great strides in reduction of overall child mortality, more than 10,000 newborn babies die worldwide every day, mostly from preventable causes (1). Even more shocking is the fact that low-cost interventions could reduce neonatal mortality by up to 70% if provided universally (2). All of this has led to the unaccomplished goal of The Millennium Development Goal for child survival (MDG-4) to reduce childhood mortality by two-thirds between 1990 and 2015 (2).
To build upon the aforementioned fact that low-cost interventions can significantly improve infant survival and the World Health Organization recommending distribution of iron and folic acid supplements to pregnant women (3), a new study (4) has found that taking a multivitamin may be one of these low-cost interventions.
In the study, over 31,000 women in Indonesia were assigned either Iron & Folic acid supplements (IFA) or a multivitamin throughout pregnancy and up to 90 months after birth. The researchers used infant deaths during the first 90 months as the primary measure of supplement effectiveness and used infant death after 90 days, low birth weight and stillbirths/abortions as the secondary measure of supplement effectiveness.
Compared to the group taking IFA supplements, women taking the multivitamin supplements had 18% greater reduction in infant mortality (35.5 deaths per 1,000 live births versus 43 deaths per 1,000 deaths). Women who were undernourished before the study began had an even greater reduction in deaths in the multivitamin group, getting a 25% reduced risk of neonatal death in the IFA group and a 38% reduced risk in the multivitamin group.
For the researchers, “Maternal [multivitamin] supplementation, as compared with IFA, can reduce early infant mortality, especially in undernourished and anemic women” and “might therefore be an important part of overall strengthening of prenatal-care programs.”
Source: Supplementation with Multiple Micronutrients Intervention Trial (SUMMIT) Study Group. “Effect of maternal multiple micronutrient supplementation on fetal loss and infant death in Indonesia: a double-blind cluster-randomised trial.” The Lancet 371.9608 (2008): 215-227.
© 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Posted July 2, 2008.
Note: While this study suggests benefits for nutrients in pregnant Indonesian women and infants, Amercian women and infants are less likely to be undernourished and thus may be at less risk for infant mortality, which, however, is higher than many other developed countries.
References:
- JE Lawn, S Cousens, J Zupan and for the Lancet Neonatal Survival Steering Team , 4 million neonatal deaths: When? Where? Why? Published online March 3, 2005.
- GL Darmstadt, ZA Bhutta, S Cousens, T Adam, N Walker, L de Bernis and for the Lancet Neonatal Survival Steering Team , Evidence-based, cost-effective interventions: how many newborn babies can we save? Published online March 3, 2005.
- N Bhandari, R Bahl, S Mazumber, J Martines, RE Black, MK Bhan and and the other members of the Infant Feeding Study Group , Effect of community-based promotion of exclusive breastfeeding on diarrhoeal illness and growth: a cluster randomised controlled trial, Lancet 361 (2003), pp. 1418–1423.
- Martines J. Effect of maternal multiple micronutrient supplementation on fetal loss and infant death in Indonesia: a double-blind cluster-randomised trial. The Lancet 2008; 371(9608):215-227
