Open AccessEssentiality of Trace Element Micronutrition in Human Pregnancy: A Systematic Review
Author(s) -
Briohny Spencer
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal of pregnancy and child health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2376-127X
DOI - 10.4172/2376-127x.1000157
Subject(s) - medicine , trace element , pregnancy , trace (psycholinguistics) , alternative medicine , element (criminal law) , bioinformatics , computational biology , traditional medicine , data science , biology , computer science , pathology , chemistry , political science , philosophy , genetics , organic chemistry , linguistics , law
The physiological challenges and metabolic demands of pregnancy increase maternal nutritional requirements for macro and micronutrients, critical for the establishment and maintenance of a healthy pregnancy. Trace elements are essential for a variety of cellular processes, and their deficiency has been linked to complications of pregnancy such as preeclampsia, preterm delivery and small for gestational age babies. Growing evidence suggests that populations of both developing and developed nations may be at risk of sub-optimal micronutrient intakes and that micronutrient supplementation may provide a cost-effective and safe strategy to improve pregnancy outcomes. This review evaluates the importance of essential trace element micronutrition in pregnancy and discusses the benefits of supplementation on maternal outcomes and fetal development. The potential importance of key essential trace elements; magnesium, copper, zinc, calcium, iodine, manganese, selenium and iron are discussed and their importance in pregnancy considered.Griffith Health, School of PharmacyFull Tex