Safe motherhood is no longer just a catch phrase, but a necessity for ensuring survival of women in pregnancy and preparing the foetus to achieve maximum potentials once born.
It is not a wonder therefore that experts see micro-nutritional deficiency in pregnant women as a veritable cause of high maternal mortality and foetal distress in the country.
Speaking on the subject ‘How Critical Nutrients Help Optimise Pregnancy Outcome”, Lead Consultant, Medheights Pharmacy Limited, Bayo Adepoju, noted that pregnancy is a crucial period in a woman’s life when the body undergoes a series of changes to create a suitable environment for the sustenance and growth of the foetus.
According to Adepoju, “It is a period when the foetal health and growth largely depend upon what the mother eats and how much is available to the foetus hence, Micronutrient supplementation before conception, during pregnancy and throughout breast-feeding period helps to ensure optimal care and development of the infant in life”.
Adepoju’s keynote address was at the presentation of Vitabiotics’ Nigeria, Pregnacare Supplement for pregnant women in Lagos.
He observed that foetal effects of Nutritional Deficiency could lead to Congenital malformations, Intrauterine growth restriction –IUGR (a condition in which an unborn baby is smaller than it should be because it is not growing at a normal rate inside), Poor systemic development, Prematurity/Low birth weight, Poor neurological status and Increased risk of neonatal haemorrhage and diarrhoea.
“On the other hand, maternal effects of Nutritional Deficiency could lead to: Anaemia, threatened/spontaneous abortion, reduced gestation time, atonic bleeding. Vasospasm and muscle cramping, increased oxidative stress, Hyperhomocysteinemia, Pregnancy Induced Hypertension or Pre-eclampsia and Eclampsia among other challenges.
“These are avoidable issues when a woman is knowledgeable about the strength of dietary nutrition before, during and after conception”, he pointed out.
He therefore noted that it is in recognising the essential needs of the micronutrients such as Zinc, Magnesium, Iodine, Copper, Iron, Calcium, Folic Acid, Vitamin B12, Vitamin B6, Anti-oxidants, Vitamin K and Selenium the United Nations Children’s Fund, pointed out that the diets of a pregnant woman often lack sufficient nutrients she needs and that is why she is endangered.
Also speaking at the launch, Managing Director of Medheights Pharmacy, Tunji Doherty, stated that the critical nutrients that optimise pregnancy outcome for every pregnant woman has been well formulated in right proportion in Pregnacare as well as in other UNICEF approved dietary supplements.
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