Maternal night blindness increases risk of mortality in the first 6 monthsof life among infants in Nepal

Night blindness occurs commonly among women during pregnancy in rural Nepal . We examined the relationship between maternal night blindness and the ris k of mortality occurring among infants in the first 6 mo of life. Stratifie d analysis by maternal night blindness status during pregnancy was done for 10,000 women participating in a randomized, placebo-controlled trial of vi tamin A and beta -carotene supplementation. Mortality of infants of non-nig ht blind women in ail three supplementation groups was similar, and when co mbined, was 63/1000 live births. Relative to this, mortality was higher by 63% [95% confidence interval (CI): 9-138%) and 50% (95% CI: -3 to 133%) amo ng infants of night blind women receiving placebo and beta -carotene, respe ctively, but only by 14% (95% CI: -33 to 93%) among those receiving vitamin A, Thus, 6-mo mortality was higher among infants of women who had night bl indness during pregnancy. Maternal receipt of vitamin A reduced this risk.