Nutritional interventions update: zinc supplements during pregnancy

Overview

Evidence from a systematic review on antenatal zinc supplementation was evaluated as part of the World Health Organization (WHO) antenatal care (ANC) guideline development process in 2016, and the following recommendation on zinc supplementation was made: “Zinc supplementation for pregnant women is only recommended in the context of rigorous research.” The Guideline Development Group (GDG) made this recommendation because it felt that the evidence on the intervention was incomplete and that more research was necessary.

Since the publication of the systematic review, four additional randomized controlled trials have been published; therefore, in April 2019, the Executive Guideline Steering Group (GSG) prioritized the WHO recommendation on antenatal zinc supplementation for updating.