Angela Onwuzoo
In a move to improve pregnancy outcomes in Lagos State, a non-governmental organisation, FHI 360 Alive&Thrive has sensitised the state’s nutrition stakeholders to the importance of Multiple Micronutrient Supplementation for pregnant women.
The Alive & Thrive initiative, managed by FHI 360, is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Government of Ireland, and other donors.
At a one-day orientation programme for the stakeholders in Ikeja recently, the NGO stressed the need for nutrition officers and health workers to make MMS available to pre- and antenatal women to enhance their nutrition.
The NGO also advised the stakeholders to make the information about its efficacy available to women especially those of childbearing age.
MMS is a once-a-day pill packed with critical micronutrients, typically containing 13 to 15 vitamins and minerals.
Pregnant women are expected to take the tablet once daily for 180 days in the course of the pregnancy.
The Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare adopted the use of MMS based on the 2020 World Health Organisation recommendation on antenatal care for positive pregnancy experience.
This led to the Federal Government’s inclusion of MMS for pregnant women in the “National Guidelines for the Prevention and Control of Micronutrients Deficiencies Control in Nigeria” for improved pregnancy outcomes, compared to Iron Folic Acid supplementation.
The recommendation is outlined by the United Nations International Multiple Micronutrient Antenatal Preparation formula which is required during pregnancy.
Speaking at the orientation programme organised by Alive & Thrive, a Nutrition Programme Officer with the Lagos State Primary Care Board, Dr Adekitan Adetoke, said maternal nutrition was crucial because it leads to good pregnancy outcomes.
Adetoke, explained, “Maternal nutrition is of great importance to the world and not just the state or the country. Maternal mortality is being checked by everybody. “This programme is an intervention on MMS that focuses on maternal nutrition.
“It helps mothers to achieve better pregnancy outcomes. Every effort is being made in the state to ensure that maternal mortality is reduced which is part of a universal health and health for all in the Sustainable Development Goals. ”
She noted that if the maternal interventions were intact and there were good pregnancy outcomes, the maternal mortality rate would be reduced.
“MMS has more micronutrients and more minerals and vitamins. It has about 15 of them which folic acid and ferrous are part of.
“Taking folic acid and ferrous alone, means you are short-changing yourself of the other proteins. We found that other vitamins are needed both prenatally and during pregnancy and postnatal. MMS is recommended for every woman of childbearing g age.
” When you prepare to be pregnant, you should be able to prepare your body to ensure that you have enough nutrients during pregnancy and then after. MMS is an enhanced vitamin and has more value than what folic acid and ferrous will give”, she said.
According to the United Nations Children’s Fund, women have distinct nutritional requirements throughout their lives – especially before and during pregnancy and while breastfeeding, when nutritional vulnerability is greatest.
Experts say the nutritional status of a woman, before conception, is important since it has a great impact on the very first developmental stages of the pregnancy.
Continuing, Adetoke said MMS was crucial for any woman preparing to get pregnant to avoid the baby being born preterm or with congenital defects.
She pointed out the supplement has enough micronutrients and vitamins and therefore should not be taken along with pregnant care.
Giving further insight into the benefits of MMS, she noted, “Right now we are pushing this intervention because it is an intervention that is being pushed everywhere in the world so that it can be available.
“ Before now, if you need to go buy pregnant care it is expensive and that is why everybody is using ferrous- folic acid.
“This intervention is being brought into the government system so that it can be available for all and it’s free in our primary healthcare centres. It is available in Lagos State health facilities and it is also on prescription.”
In her presentation, State Coordinator, FHI 360 Alive & Thrive Lagos, Olawumi Ajayi, said it was important that the woman takes one daily MMS tablet throughout the pregnancy (from the day the woman notices she is pregnant till delivery),
Ajayi advised pregnant women to set an alarm or reminder to take MMS daily and keep the container in a location where it is seen every day (and out of reach of children and away from direct sunlight).
“Taking MMS at the same time each day is a good strategy. The pregnant woman can seek the help of her husband or another family member to remind her daily about her dose of MMS and to obtain adequate supplies by contacting health workers and attending ANC.
‘Taking MMS as prescribed will help the pregnant woman
to feel less tired and more energetic, and support a healthy pregnancy and optimal growth of the foetus”, she said.
Ajayi also stated that medical storekeepers and pharmacists in charge of monitoring, requisitioning, and maintaining supplies should be oriented on the supplementation protocols and above steps and the importance of micronutrient supplements for maternal nutrition.
“MMS is a once-a-day pill of critical micronutrients needed during pregnancy It contains between 15 essential vitamins and minerals for pregnant and nursing women and meets micronutrient requirements that poor diets cannot meet.
“It is a preventive intervention that should be provided to pregnant women. MMS is safe, efficacious, affordable, and cost-effective as one of the interventions to improve maternal nutrition”, she said.
Besides improving maternal nutrition status, Ajayi stressed that the intake of MMS during pregnancy reduces the risk of adverse birth outcomes such as preterm birth, stillbirth, low birth weight, and small-for-gestational-age birth.
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