LINKING MATERNAL AND INFANT BENEFITS OF A NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENT DURING PREGNANCY AND LACTATION

To evaluate the effect of a nutritional supplement on change in women' s weight during a reproductive cycle and on the difference in birth we ight between one infant and the previous one, we analyzed data on 176 complete reproductive cycles from an experiment that was conducted in rural Guatemala. Women with an initial weight <50 kg were classified a s marginally nourished or malnourished. Women whose intake of the supp lement was in the top 2 tertiles were distinguished from those whose i ntake was in the lowest tertile. Linear regression modeling was used t o estimate the effect of supplementation on these outcomes and to cont rol for confounding factors. Malnourished women gained weight during t he reproductive cycle, but their second (study) infant tended to weigh less at birth than their prior-born infant. Higher intakes of supplem ent were associated with a less negative difference in birth weight. M arginally nourished women lost weight during the reproductive cycle an d their second (study) infant tended to weigh more at birth than their prior-born infant. Higher intakes of supplement were associated with a less negative difference in birth weight trend for the women themsel ves. Well-nourished women and their infants did not show any of these benefits from supplementation. These findings help explain past contra dictory findings on maternal depletion as well as on the benefits of n utritional supplementation for mothers and their infants.