Nutritional Advice El Mondo
Objectives:
The relationship between maternal folic acid supplementation in pregnancy and infant birth weight has not been well described in low- and middle-income countries. Therefore, this review article has been conducted.
Does maternal folic acid supplementation in pregnancy increase infant birth weight in low- and middle-income countries?
Study design:
This review article included 13 cohort studies and 4 randomized controlled trials (4 RCTs) with a total of 275,421 pregnant women.
Results and conclusions:
The investigators found in 9 cohort studies that maternal folic acid supplementation in pregnancy significantly increased birth weight [pooled MD = 0.37 kg, 95% CI = 0.24 to 0.50].
The investigators found in 3 RCTs that maternal folic acid supplementation in pregnancy significantly increased birth weight [pooled MD = 0.56 kg, 95% CI = 0.15 to 0.97].
The investigators found in 10 studies that maternal folic acid supplementation in pregnancy significantly reduced risk of getting a low birth weight with 41% [pooled OR = 0.59, 95% CI = 0.47 to 0.74]
The investigators found in 5 studies that maternal folic acid supplementation in pregnancy non-significantly reduced risk of small for gestational age with 37% [pooled OR = 0.63, 95% CI = 0.39 to 1.01]
The investigators concluded maternal folic acid supplementation in low- and middle-income countries is associated with an increased birth weight.
Original title:
Maternal folic acid supplementation and infant birthweight in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review by Jonker H, Capelle N, […], Corsi DJ.
Link:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31680411
Additional information of El Mondo:
Find more information/studies on food fortification/malnutrition, folic acid and pregnancy right here.