1. Leaf Concentrate Fortification of Antenatal Protein-Calorie Snacks Improves Pregnancy Outcomes
- Author
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Magon A, Simon Collin, Joshi P, Davys Late G, Attlee A, and Mathur B
- Subjects
Anemia, Iron-Deficiency ,Plant Extracts ,Infant, Newborn ,Pregnancy Outcome ,Birthweight ,India ,Anaemia ,Original Papers ,Plant Leaves ,Pregnancy Complications ,Young Adult ,Pregnancy ,Food, Fortified ,Birth Weight ,Humans ,Female ,Snacks ,Leaf concentrate - Abstract
Ready-to-eat (RTE) snacks are routinely distributed to pregnant women in India. These provide protein and calories but are low in micronutrients. We investigated whether RTE snacks fortified with leaf concentrate (LC) could improve pregnancy outcomes, including maternal haemoglobin (Hb) concentrations and infants’ birthweight. This randomized controlled two-arm trial was conducted over 18 months: control (sRTE) group received standard 120 g RTE snack (102 g wheat flour, 18 g soya flour); intervention (lcRTE) group received the same snack fortified with 7 g LC. The study was conducted in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India. One hundred and five pregnant women aged 18-35 years were studied. Among the 105 women randomized to the two arms of the trial, 2 (1.9%) were severely anaemic (Hb ≤6.0 g/dL); 55 (53.4%) were moderately anaemic (Hb 6.0-8.0 g/dL); 34 (33.0%) were mildly anaemic (Hb 8.6-10.9 g/dL); and 12 (11.7%) were not anaemic (Hb ≥11.0 g/dL). In the final month of pregnancy, 83.0% (39/47) of women in the sRTE group had Hb ≤8.5 g/dL compared to 37.8% (17/45) in the lcRTE group (p
- Published
- 2014