Multiple micronutrient supplements in pregnancy: Implementation considerations for integration as part of quality services in routine antenatal care. Objectives, results, and conclusions of the meeting

Abstract

Health promotion, screening, diagnosis, and disease prevention are essential services of quality routine antenatal care for pregnant adult and adolescent women. Supplementation programmes in pregnancy, generally implemented in the context of antenatal care services, have had less than optimal results in many countries, generally attributed to limited access, low coverage, and reduced adherence to the recommended regimens and counselling. The World Health Organization Department of Nutrition for Health and Development, in collaboration with the United Nations Children's Fund and Nutrition International, convened the technical consultation "Multiple micronutrient supplements in pregnancy: Implementation considerations for successful incorporation into existing programmes." The objectives of the technical consultation were to (a) examine implementation experiences of micronutrient supplementation interventions in pregnant women, lessons learnt, and best practices; (b) discuss programmatic and technical considerations of interventions on multiple micronutrient supplementation in pregnant women in low-, middle-, and high-income countries; and (c) identify implementation considerations that can be useful to scaling up efforts by national policymaker and their advisors considering multiple micronutrient supplementation in pregnant women as part of existing antenatal care programmes as well as other delivery platforms. The consultation was based on presentations of background papers, case studies, and plenary discussions. Country representatives were asked to discuss the context of micronutrient supplementation for their countries and share implementation challenges they faced. This paper provides the background and rationale of the technical consultation, synopsises the presentations, and provides a summary of the main considerations and conclusions reached during plenary discussions.

Keywords: folic acid; iron; meeting; multiple micronutrient supplements; pregnancy; public health programmes.