Effect of nutritional supplementation of breastfeeding HIV positive mothers on maternal and child health: findings from a randomized controlled clinical trial

Study answer

What this study found

Overall, the nutritional supplement did not significantly improve maternal or infant health outcomes. Maternal anthropometric and body composition changes were not significantly different between groups at 14 weeks or 6 months, although in the BMI 24.9 kg/m2 or lower subgroup, lean body mass loss was smaller with supplementation than with control (1.32 kg vs 3.17 kg; p = 0.026). Infant outcomes were also largely null: early differences in MUAC, triceps skinfold, and BMI at 14 weeks were no longer significant after adjustment, and there were no significant differences in opportunistic…

Study & population

Randomized controlled clinical trial in HIV-positive lactating mothers attending a community health center in peri-urban KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

Intervention

Daily oral 50 g Sibusiso ready food supplement, a peanut/soya milk spread enriched with micronutrients, providing 280 kcal and 8 g protein per serving.

Key limitation

The trial was relatively small and the overall effect was limited by adherence problems, with 33.3% not consuming the full daily amount and sweetness cited as the main reason.

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Original abstract