Recent research published in the American Journal for Clinical Nutrition (AJCN) addressed the issue of nutrient levels during pregnancy. Researchers from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. noted that 90% of pregnant women do not receive adequate nutrients during pregnancy from food alone, and that supplements are taken to fill that deficit. But, they noted: "Current dietary supplement practices reduce risk of inadequacy for only some nutrients and induce excessive intake of other nutrients." Their objective was to estimate the supplement doses needed to help most pregnant women achieve the recommended intake without exceeding upper limits for key prenatal nutrients. They also aimed to identify U.S. dietary supplements that delivered the needed doses.
The researchers determined the following target dose for prenatal supplementation:
- ≥198 mcg retinol activity equivalents of total vitamin A (with ≤2063 mcg preformed retinol)
- 7–91 mcg vitamin D
- 169–720 mcg dietary folate equivalents of folic acid
- 383–943 mg calcium
- 13–22 mg iron;
- ≥59 mg ω-3 FAs.
Regarding supplements to meet the need, they concluded that "99% of the affordable dietary supplements on the market do not contain appropriate doses of key micronutrients that are urgently needed to make up for the nutritional imbalance," according to a news report on the study, from the University of Colorado.
Lead study author Katherine Sauder, Ph.D., Deputy Director of the LEAD Center and associate Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, stressed the importance of a balanced diet and good prenatal vitamin. She noted in the article: “This research will inform pregnant patients and their doctors about key nutrients they may be missing in their diet and help them choose prenatal vitamins that can provide the nutrients they need. Dietary supplement manufacturers can also use these results to inform better dosing in their products.”
CRN weighs in on the research
"We appreciate the study authors’ efforts to add to the body of research on nutrient needs and supplementation during pregnancy," said Andrea Wong, Ph.D., Senior Vice President, Scientific and Regulatory Affairs, CRN. "This latest research reinforces what skilled dietitians and nutritionists have been saying for years: Dietary supplements, even prenatal supplements, are simply ‘supplements’ to a healthy diet, not substitutes. While these critical products absolutely do fill some nutritional gaps, they are not intended to replace healthy eating, and certainly not during the critical time of pregnancy.
“The results of the study are not surprising—getting sufficient levels of all the necessary nutrients to support a healthy pregnancy means eating right, as well as using a prenatal multivitamin and other dietary supplements when needed,” added Wong. “Including every key nutrient in a single product at levels to meet the needs of nearly every woman during pregnancy is, of course, challenging. These products absolutely increase the daily intake of these nutrients, but even as food patterns vary across the population, one product should not be expected to provide exactly 100 percent of each person’s precise nutritional needs. However, the dietary supplement industry strives to provide products that best serve most people during pregnancy.”
CRN also recently covered the topic of maternal health for Black Maternal Health Week (BMHW), which is held annually on April 11–17. BMHW is founded and led by the Black Mamas Matter Alliance "to build awareness, activism, and community building to amplify the voices, perspectives and lived experiences of Black Mamas and birthing people." Read the Q&A with Haiuyen Nguyen, CRN Vice President, Regulatory & Nutrition Policy, here.
