Impact of Pre-pregnancy Micronutrient Supplementation on Maternal and Child Outcomes

"There is no current recommendation for weekly MM supplements for WRA. Therefore, we propose a supplement that contains: The same amounts of iron and folic acid as the weekly, pre-natal IFA supplement; An amount of vitamin D based on the Food and Nutrition Board's Recommended Daily Allowances (RDA); UNICEF/WHO/UNU recommended amounts of remaining nutrients (UNIMMAP recommendations). The supplement is taken weekly during pre-pregnancy.~Vitamin A (μg) 800 Vitamin D (IU) 600 Vitamin E (mg) 10 Vitamin C (mg) 70 Thiamine (mg) 1.4 Riboflavin (mg) 1.4 Niacin (mg) 18 Vitamin B6 (mg) 1.9 Vitamin B12 (μg) 2.6 Folic acid (μg)\* 2800 Iron (mg)\* 60 Zinc (mg) 15 Copper (mg) 2 Selenium (μg) 65 Iodine (μg) 150"

The doses of weekly and daily iron (60mg) and folic acid (2800μg) are based on current WHO recommendations for WRA.

It is unethical to have a placebo group as FA is universally recommended for WRA to prevent neural tube defects. Therefore, the control group will receive 2800 μg FA once a week during the pre-pregnancy period. This dosage is safe and meets the minimum recommended intake of 400 μg/d for Women of Reproductive Age (WRA). Recent studies have shown that a weekly dose of 2800 μg FA is as effective as a daily dose of 400 μg in improving folic acid and reducing homocysteine levels among WRA.