Effects of preconception nutrition interventions on pregnancy and birth outcomes in South Asia: a systematic review
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Undernutrition amongst reproductive age women, low birth weight, small for gestationalage and preterm birth present significant health burdens in South Asia which interventions in pregnancy alone have not resolved. Effectiveness of preconception nutrition interventions is not well-documented. This systematic review summarises evidence on the effect of preconception nutrition interventions on pregnancy and birth outcomes in South Asia. We found highly heterogeneous evidence across four micronutrient supplementation, two food supplementation, and three complex interventions trials. Preconception micronutrient supplementation alone did not affect birth size, but food supplementation was effective with and without multiple micronutrients, especially when initiated at least 90 days before conception. Combined health, nutrition, psychosocial care, and WaSH interventions addressing determinants at multiple levels were most effective. However intensive delivery by project employees poses problems for scale-up. More robust South Asian preconception intervention trials to identify scalable interventions that are effective in real-world delivery settings are needed.
Date Issued
2025-05-01
Date Acceptance
2025-04-01
Citation
The Lancet Regional Health – Southeast Asia, 2025, 36
ISSN
2772-3682
Publisher
Elsevier
Journal / Book Title
The Lancet Regional Health – Southeast Asia
Volume
36
Copyright Statement
© 2025 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
License URL
Identifier
10.1016/j.lansea.2025.100587
Subjects
Preconception nutrition
South asia
Systematic review
Birth outcomes
Pregnancy outcomes
Micronutrient supplementation
Food supplementation
Complex intervention
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
100580
Date Publish Online
2025-04-24