Good nutrition during pregnancy is important for a baby’s health. Too few vitamins and minerals, such as folic acid and vitamin A, can result in neural tube defects and alterations in heart structure. On the other hand, excessive intake of certain micronutrients may increase chronic disease risk. Although previously associated with lower income countries, meta-analyses and nationally representative samples have shown that at least one in every three pregnant women in the US aged 20-40 were at risk for inadequate intake of various vitamins while nearly one third of pregnant women exceeded the upper intake level of certain micronutrients by up to 5-10 times their required amount.
To explore the disparities in nutrient intake among pregnant women, Katherine Sauder of CU Anschutz and her writing team collected data from nearly 10,000 women in 15 ECHO cohorts across 14 states. Participants in all of these cohorts reported sociodemographic data, weight, age, race/ethnicity, education status, and pre-pregnancy body mass index. Participants were women aged 14-50 who provided either 24-hour dietary recalls or food frequency questionnaires during their pregnancy between 1999-2019.
The team compared the intake of 19 micronutrients from food alone versus food plus dietary supplements to estimate the proportion of the micronutrients consumed above and below their recommended amounts among the different sociodemographic and physical subgroups.
The study found that more than one in five pregnant women did not eat enough of the vitamins D, E, K, and choline and the minerals magnesium and potassium, even when taking dietary supplements. The women most likely to not get enough of these vitamins and minerals were those aged 14-18 years, those who were Hispanic or Black, those who had less than a high school education, and those with obesity. Also, non-Hispanic women were most likely to eat too much folic acid, potentially putting their child at an increased risk for chronic illness.
“This study shows that the dietary supplements women use today do not help them get all the nutrients they need in the right amounts. Personalized approaches for dietary counseling and dietary supplement recommendations are needed. Reformulation of supplements would likely benefit pregnant women as well,” said Sauder. “Choosing a prenatal vitamin can be hard because there are so many products at the store. Ask your doctor to help you choose the best one for you.”
In the future, the team will study how much vitamins and minerals women are getting from foods and compare this value to the recommended amounts for pregnant women. This will help doctors identify which dietary supplements on the market will give women the vitamins and minerals they need.