The beneficial effect of folic acid supplementation before and shortly after conception is well recognized, whereas the effect of supplementation during the second and third trimesters is controversial and poorly documented. Our aims were to systematically review randomized controlled trials (RCTs) investigating the effect of folate supplementation on birth weight, placental weight and length o...

Objective: There is evidence that gestational exposure to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) results in fetal zinc deficiency, and eventually neurodevelopmental abnormalities. In this study, we utilized a rat model of maternal immune activation (MIA) to investigate the possible neuroprotective effect of zinc supplementation throughout pregnancy on hippocampal astrocytes activation as well as inflammatory...

Lifestyle factors have an important influence on pregnancy outcome. It is well established that smoking cigarettes, eating a poor diet and drinking alcohol during pregnancy can have adverse consequences for the foetus. More recent data suggest that moderate maternal caffeine consumption is associated with low birth weight, and that pre-pregnancy obesity increases the risk of neural tube defects...

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this nested cohort study was to compare the rate of pre-pregnancy supplementation in obese women with that of women with a normal BMI. METHODS Pregnant women were enrolled at their convenience in a large university hospital. Weight and height were measured in the first trimester and BMI categorised. RESULTS Of the 288 women, 35.1% were in the normal, 29.5% in the ov...

Micronutrient deficiency, whether clinical or subclinical, may affect growth, cognition and reproductive performance. In pregnant women moderate to severe deficiencies of iron, zinc and folic acid have been shown to increase risk of low birth weight, pregnancy complications and birth defects. Any attempt to introduce a micronutrient supplementation programme during pregnancy must be based on ad...

BACKGROUND The World Health Organization recommends routine vitamin A supplementation during pregnancy or lactation in areas with endemic vitamin A deficiency (where night blindness occurs), based on the expectation that supplementation will improve maternal and newborn outcomes including mortality, morbidity and prevention of anaemia or infection.   OBJECTIVES To review the effects of supple...

The effects of a single intramuscular iron dose, 10mg, to pregnant rats on Day of pregnancy, on the outcome of pregnancy, with respect to foetal weight and mother's immune function has been investigated. Despite significantly elevated hepatic iron stores after iron supplementation in pregnant rats this had no significant effect upon blood haemoglobin or transferrin saturation levels. However th...

The increasing allergy prevalence in affluent countries may be caused by reduced microbial stimulation, resulting in an abnormal postnatal immune maturation. This chapter concerns the theories behind the use of probiotics in randomized prevention trials, and how this supplementation affects the immunity of pregnant women, the immune development in their children, and possibly preventing allergi...

The effect of treatment for anestrus in buffaloes with a PGF2α or GnRH injection and vitamin-mineral (Vit-M) supplementation for 1 to 2 months and some factors influencing the treatment effect were studied. In anestrus buffaloes with CL, an injection of PGF2α tended to show higher estrus detection and pregnancy rates within 17 days after treatment than Vit-M supplementation (P<0.10). In those w...