Prenatal multivitamins and mineral supplements are an unnecessary expense with no proven health benefits for well-nourished women or their babies, according to a review of scientific data. Sold at about 18 euros ($20) per month, these supplements are heavily marketed to women in all stages of pregnancy as a means of warding off health problems, said the analysis.
‘Pregnancy multivitamins are a waste of money for most women as it does not benefit health. Eating a well-balanced diet can help ward off health problems.’
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Pregnant women are a soft target for products which promise to give their baby the best start in life "regardless of cost," said the authors. And while daily doses of a B vitamin called folic acid, and vitamin D to a lesser degree, are known to be beneficial, there is no evidence that cocktails stuffed full of other vitamins are protective.
Some may even be harmful, said the paper: high doses of vitamin A can harm a developing fetus.
Multivitamin and mineral supplements typically contain 20 or more active ingredients.
"We found no evidence to recommend that all pregnant women should take prenatal multi-nutrient supplements beyond the nationally (British) advised folic acid and vitamin D supplements, generic versions of which can be purchased relatively inexpensively," said the review authors.
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The focus, said the paper, should be on promoting a healthy diet and boosting access to folic acid supplements for lower income women.
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The team had reviewed published research on folic acid, vitamin D, iron, vitamins C, E and A, and multivitamin supplements in a review of official British guidelines for pregnant women.
The guidelines recommend 400 micrograms of folic acid daily until 12 weeks of pregnancy, and 10 micrograms of vitamin D throughout pregnancy and breastfeeding.
Much of the evidence on which marketing claims are based, come from studies in low-income countries where pregnant women are more likely to be malnourished, said the authors.
Folic acid, a synthetic version of folate, is used to fortify flour and bread to reduce birth defects of the brain, spine or spinal cord -- so-called neural tube defects.
Vitamin D is found in some foods and can be synthesized by the body when the skin is exposed to ultraviolet light. It has been linked to a healthy heart and bones.
Source-AFP