- By Femi Alabi
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has said that the introduction of Multiple Micronutrient Supplement (MMS) for pregnant women in Nigeria will reduce high rate of maternal and infant mortality.
The fund’s Chief of Nutrition, Nemat Hajeebhoy, said this during an interview with newsmen on Sunday in Abuja.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), Nigeria’s Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) in 2020 stood at 1,047 deaths per 100,000 live births, making it one of the countries with the highest MMR globally.
The Federal Government, has, however, taken steps to transit from Iron and Folic Acid Supplements (IFAs) to MMS for pregnant women to ensure better birth outcomes.
The Federal Government adopted the use of MMS based on the 2020 WHO recommendation on antenatal care for positive pregnancy experience.
This led to the inclusion of MMS for pregnant women in the “National Guidelines for the Prevention and Control of Micronutrients Deficiencies Control in Nigeria” for improved pregnancy outcomes, compared to IFAs supplementation.
Hajeebhoy said if a mother is healthier, then the chance of death during pregnancy and birth reduces.
According to her, one of the worries of public health and nutrition practitioners is the high rate of maternal, neonatal and infant mortality, a situation which can be reversed through MMS.
She added that with MMS, the proportion of children born small for gestational age reduces and there is reduced risk of pre-term and stillbirth babies.
“Similarly, if a child is born healthy, then the probability that the child will die within the first few days of life or even within the first year is significantly reduced.
“So, if we want to preserve the health of our women and children in Nigeria, especially in those early years and days, then this is what I would call a best buy in public health.
“We also know that if a mother is not nourished, there is the risk of her having a preterm baby or a stillbirth.
“The first 1,000 days from pregnancy to the time the child is two years of age is a very important period in terms of growth as human beings and I don’t just mean physical growth, but also mental growth.
“When a woman is pregnant, she needs to preserve her health so that the child in the uterus can be healthy. So, MMS gives her that boost and all the vitamins and minerals she needs.”
She also said that if a child growing in the uterus does not get enough nutrients, the child is small for the gestational age, which means the child is already malnourished in the womb, but with MMS, such situation is prevented.
The chief of nutrition said there is also a reduction in low birth weight because babies born with low birth weight (less than 2.5 kilogrammes) are at higher risk of infection and even potential death.
Also, Mrs Ladidi Bako-Aiyegbusi, the Director of Nutrition, Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, said that according to the 2018 National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS), about 61 per cent of pregnant women in Nigeria were anemic which has an impact on the unborn child.
She, however, said that WHO in 2020 recommended that countries should transit from the use of IFAs to MMS to improve pregnancy outcomes.
“Then in Nigeria in 2021, the National Guideline on Micronutrient Deficiency Control was revised, which included MMS for pregnant women through the antenatal care platform.
“So, every woman that goes for antenatal care will be provided with MMS.”
She, however, said that the Federal Government was not phasing out IFAs, as it would still be accessible for pregnant women at health facilities when they go for antenatal care.
“However, we are now doing a gradual transition from IFAs to MMS and we are starting in batches.
“So, we are currently carrying out implementation research in Bauchi State, but government has plans to carry out the implementation research in all the six geopolitical zones.”