ObjectivesTo evaluate the effect of oral nutritional supplementation (ONS) plus dietary counselling (DC) (intervention) versus DC alone (control) on growth and upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) in nutritionally at-risk, picky eating children in India.MethodsWe performed a 90-day, prospective, randomized, controlled trial. A total of 255 children aged 24–72 months with a weight-for-age z-score ≥−2 and <−1, picky eating behaviour, and acute URTI were randomized to the control (n = 128) or intervention group (n = 127). The outcomes included the change in weight-for-age z-score from days 1 to 90 and the URTI incidence.ResultsThe mean age was 44.0 ± 14.3 months. The intervention group showed a significantly greater increase in mean weight-for-age and body mass index-for-age z-scores compared with the control group from day 10 onwards. Higher energy intake in the intervention group was observed at all follow-up visits, except for day 10. The incidence of URTI in the control group was 2.01 times higher than that in the intervention group, controlling for confounding factors.ConclusionsONS plus DC is effective for improving weight and reducing the incidence of URTI in nutritionally at-risk, picky eating children with an acute URTI episode.

BackgroundDuring pregnancy, a mother’s nutritional needs increase to meet the added nutrient demands for fetal growth and development. An enhanced understanding of adequate nutrition and sufficient weight gain during pregnancy can guide development of policies and strategies for maternal nutrition care, actions that will ultimately promote better pregnancy outcomes. In a sample of pregnant women in Vietnam, this study characterized maternal nutrition status and gestational weight gain at a mid-pregnancy baseline, then examined the association of these variables with specific birth outcomes.MethodsThe study used baseline data from a randomized, controlled trial that compared pregnant Vietnamese women who received a nutritional intervention group with those who received only standard dietary counseling (control group). At baseline (26–29 weeks gestation), mothers’ dietary reports were collected, and intake of 10 macro- and micronutrients was estimated; data for baseline gestational weight gain was collected for all pregnant women enrolled into the study (n = 228). This analysis also used weights, lengths, and head circumferences at birth for infants of mothers in the control group.ResultsAt baseline, 95% of the pregnant women had concurrent inadequacies for more than five nutrients, and nearly half had concurrent inadequacies for more than ten nutrients. Almost two-thirds of the pregnant women did not meet recommendations for gestational weight gain. We found a significant, inverse association between the number of nutrient inadequacies and gestational weight gain (overall p ≤ 0.045). After adjusting for potential confounders, gestational weight gain was positively associated with birth weight, length at birth, birth weight-for-age z-score and length-for-age z-score (all p ≤ 0.006).ConclusionsOur findings raise concern over the high proportion of pregnant women in Vietnam who have multiple concurrent nutrient inadequacies and who fall short of meeting recommended gestational weight gain standards. To ensure better birth outcomes in this population, policies and strategies to improve the status of maternal nutrition are greatly needed.Trial registrationThe trial was retrospectively registered at clinicaltrials.gov on December 20, 2013, registration identifier: NCT02016586.

Use of MNS and breastfeeding support improve birth outcomes and exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) rate in Vietnamese mothers. Additionally, it promotes breast milk production among mothers with lower baseline MUAC.

Together, these results reveal that high milk concentrations of lutein and zeaxanthin driven by healthy maternal intakes of xanthophyll rich foods are associated with high infant plasma concentrations. These findings will be useful for determining appropriate lutein fortification strategies. Clinical Study.gov registration number: NCT01669655.

BackgroundMaternal nutrition during pregnancy and breastfeeding is important for the healthy growth and development of the fetus and infant.PurposeThis study aimed to evaluate the long-term effects of a maternal milk supplementation (MMS) in conjunction with a breastfeeding support program on breastfeeding practices including duration of any breastfeeding and exclusive breastfeeding and child neurodevelopment outcomes at 30 months old.MethodsWe followed up the offspring of 204 Vietnamese women who completed a randomized controlled trial where the intervention group received MMS with a breastfeeding support program from the last trimester to 12 weeks postpartum while the control group received standard care. At 30 months postpartum, information on child feeding practices was collected and child neurodevelopment was assessed by the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development (Bayley-III).ResultsThere was no significant difference in the duration of any breastfeeding (ABF) from birth between the groups. However, the intervention group had longer exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) duration (p = 0.0172), higher EBF rate at 6 months (p = 0.0093) and lower risk of discontinuing EBF (p = 0.0071) than the control. Children in the intervention group had significantly higher Bayley-III composite scores in the domains of cognitive (p = 0.0498) and motor (p = 0.0422) functions, as well as a tendency toward better social-emotional behavior (p = 0.0513) than children in the control group. The association between maternal intervention and child development was attenuated after further adjustment for birth weight but not EBF duration, suggesting that improvements in child development may be partially attributed to the benefits of prenatal nutrition supplementation on birth outcomes.ConclusionsMMS with breastfeeding support during late pregnancy and early postpartum significantly improved EBF practices. The intervention was also associated with improvements in neurodevelopment in children at 30 months old.