Black women have, on average, lower DHA omega-3 levels and higher risk of preterm birth, but high dose supplementation with DHA may reduce the risk of preterm birth and early preterm birth, says a new study.
Women who were given prebiotic fiber-based dietary supplements during pregnancy and lactation experienced an increase in beneficial bacteria for themselves and their infants, according to a study in Clinical Nutrition.
Continuous maternal folic acid supplementation during the pre-conceptional and prenatal periods may decrease the risk of autism in offspring, according to new research from China.
Japan may be an ageing society with a shrinking population, but with preconception care on the rise and a record number of babies born via in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) in recent years, companies such as Bayer Consumer Health are seeing growth opportunities...
A higher dose of vitamin D supplementation effectively helps prevent deficiencies that are linked to adverse health outcomes in pregnant women including pre-eclampsia, preterm birth, and low birth weight.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office has issued a report on prenatal supplements, which includes data on the testing of 12 different products and some wide-ranging recommendations calling for greater FDA oversight.
Intake of α-linolenic acid (ALA) during pregnancy may stabilise maternal mental health, with high levels of maternal blood ALA lined with the mitigation of psychological distress, a new study reports.
Only 23% of pregnant women are meeting daily choline intake recommendations of 440mg/day, says an Australian study, despite its crucial role in cognitive development prenatal infants.
Low-dose aspirin taken with calcium was more effective in preventing the onset of preeclampsia and reducing the risk of pregnancy complications, compared to aspirin alone, according to Chinese researchers.
A narrative review investigating the benefits and risks of high-dose folic acid for women with pre-existing diabetes in periconception concludes doses of 4mg folate a day or 5mg every second day are warranted, taking individualised needs into consideration.
Nausea and vomiting in pregnancy (NVP), commonly known as “morning sickness”, could lead to nutrient deficiencies and severe complications for both mother and infant, say Chinese researchers.
A year long trial showed that the daily intake of a supplement containing probiotics, myo-inositol, and micronutrients could shorten the time needed for overweight women to conceive.
Dietary supplementation of folic acid and iodine could boost fertility rate, while evening primrose oil is associated with a longer time to pregnancy (TTP), say Singapore researchers.
Pregnant women should consume an average 600 IUs of vitamin D daily to maintain adequate serum levels and reduce the risk of bacterial vaginosis (BV), according to newly published data.
Policymakers need to review the current methods of ensuring folate sufficiency among women of childbearing age, said a group of Australian researchers who found that food and supplements could not provide optimal folate intake.
A clinical study on Max Biocare’s IronUp supplement was shown to perform as well as the standard management of iron deficiency for pregnant woman in terms of absorption, tolerability, and efficacy.
Nearly two in three pregnant women in Vietnam have consumed special milk formulas as they believe that doing so would benefit their unborn children, according to a new study, which questioned ‘aggressive marketing tactics’.
Australian nutraceutical company Max Biocare is looking to launch a range of supplements for maternal nutrition in more South East Asian countries next year.
Researchers from Nanjing Medical University in China have created an image-based dietary assessment embedded in WeChat for pregnant women and have found it to be more accurate than traditional methods such dietary recall.
The supplementation of both Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium during pregnancy could reduce the risk of eczema developing in infants, results from a meta-analysis have shown.
The supplementation of a formulation containing myo-inositol, probiotics, and micronutrients before and during pregnancy could reduce preterm birth, according to a study conducted in Singapore, New Zealand, and UK.
Women taking folic acid supplementation during early pregnancy have children who are 43 per cent less likely to develop autism, according to a new meta-analysis.
Researchers are recommending a multi-micronutrient supplementation beyond iron and folate for women of reproductive age, pregnant and lactating, according to an Asian study funded by Bayer South East Asia.
There is considerable opportunity for firms to tailor probiotic products specifically aimed at improving the health of seniors, pregnant and breastfeeding women, according to a new high-level industry report.
The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) will be conducting investigations on 12 artemisia species permitted for use in the country, following scientific reports on how intake of the botanical may lead to miscarriages.
South Korean probiotic brand Youguth is planning to launch new products for pregnant women, to tap into what it believes to be the unmet needs of skin health as well as the more widely-known gut problems among these consumers.
An analysis of the diets of nearly 3500 Australian women found high consumption of carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, pumpkin, cabbage, green beans and potatoes before conception helped women reach full term pregnancy.
A mother’s gut bacteria and diet are crucial in promoting a healthy pregnancy, with reduced levels of the short-chain fatty acid acetate – produced by fermentation in the gut – being linked to an increase risk of preeclampsia.
Multiple micronutrient supplementation before pregnancy may be necessary to minimise the incidence of micronutrient deficiency among rural Bangladeshi women, according to an RCT by researchers in the US, Bangladesh and Thailand.
Probiotic supplementation can lower fasting blood glucose and increase insulin sensitivity in women with gestational diabetes, according to a Thai-US study.
The Perinatal Society of Singapore has issued a set of nutrition guidelines for mothers in Singapore, spurred by the alarming rate of gestational diabetes and obesity in the country.
Folic acid is the most popular supplement with pregnant Japanese women, according to a survey conducted by Beanstalk Snow, a Japanese manufacturer of infant nutrition products.
Vitamin D supplementation for pregnant women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) may lead to improvements in their glucose and cholesterol levels, and lower their offspring's risk of hyperbilirubinemia, say researchers in Iran.
An ongoing multi-country study led by the Public Health Foundation of India is trying to determine if maternal DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) supplementation may have beneficial effects on neurodevelopment in the offspring during its first 1,000 days of life.
Pregnant Vietnamese women urgently need suitable nutrient intervention, with over 50% failing to meet the recommended daily intake for essential micronutrients, say researchers in Vietnam and Australia.
Maternal health during and after pregnancy must be more closely monitored to avoid lipid-soluble vitamin deficiencies — particularly vitamin D deficiency — in the foetus and newborn infants, say Japanese researchers.
Researchers in Singapore say insufficient vitamin B12 coupled with higher folate may lead to higher gestational diabetes risk, holding "potential implications for antenatal supplement recommendations".
One-third of pregnant women in Western Australia are not following iodine supplement recommendations, while only one in four do so before conceiving, new data reveals.
Pregnant women who were iron-deficient were more likely to have higher levels of perinatal depression, according to Canadian researchers from the University of Toronto and McMaster University.
A new trial is to explore how the first 1,000 days after conception might influence the risk of obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease in later life.
About two-thirds of expectant and breastfeeding mothers in New Zealand do not consume sufficient folic acid or iodine, say researchers from the University of Otago.
The most significant individual factors in the first 1,000 days of a child's life that influence health and development relate to nutrition, substance use and the experience of significant stress, according to a wide-ranging Australian evidence paper.
The International Centre for Diarrhoea Disease Research in Bangladesh (ICDDR,B) has begun a community-based RCT to determine the effectiveness of nutrition intervention strategies on childhood stunting.
Exposure to severe famine as a foetus or infant significantly increases the chance of having dyslipidaemia in adulthood for women, analysis of people affected by the Chinese famine has revealed
Perinatal fish oil supplementation is beneficial for the communication neurodevelopment of four-month-old infants, but its impact on other cognitive skills remains inconclusive.
