Vitamin A supplementation for postpartum women.

Study answer

What this study found

Postpartum vitamin A supplementation did not improve maternal or infant mortality or morbidity compared with placebo or lower-dose regimens. In the largest mortality analyses, maternal mortality was RR 1.01 (0.44 to 2.21) at 12 months in 8577 participants from 1 RCT and RR 0.50 (0.09 to 2.71) at 6 months in 564 participants from 1 RCT. Biochemical markers improved modestly, including breast milk retinol, which increased by MD 0.20 µmol/L at 3 to 3.5 months in 837 participants from 6 RCTs, but these changes did not translate into clear clinical benefit. No consistent adverse effects were…

Study & population

Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized trials in postpartum women from low- and middle-income settings, including multiple countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

Intervention

Postpartum women received high-dose vitamin A, most commonly as retinyl palmitate, given as single oral doses of 200,000 IU to 400,000 IU soon after delivery or within the first few postpartum weeks.

Key limitation

Evidence quality was generally low to very low.

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Original abstract