Is Oral Iron and Folate Supplementation during Pregnancy Protective against Low Birth Weight and Preterm Birth in Africa? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Despite recent evidence demonstrating iron and folate supplementation reduces the risk of low birth weight and preterm births, synthesis of the evidence is not sufficient to understand their impacts in Africa.

Method

MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Embase, Scopus, CHINAL, Web of Science, Cochrane databases, and Google Scholar were searched for the published and grey literature. Either iron-only, folate-only, or iron-folic acid (IFA) oral supplementation during pregnancy was the primary exposure/intervention. The focus of this review was low birth weight and preterm births in the African region. Qualitative synthesis, meta-analysis, and subgroup analysis were employed.

Results

In the qualitative synthesis (n = 4), IFA supplementation showed a positive impact on re

SUBMITTER: Bekele Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11356927 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature