The effect of providing lipid-based nutrient supplements on morbidity in rural Malawian infants and young children: a randomized controlled trial.

Objective: Safety of home fortificants in children is uncertain in areas where infections are common. We tested the hypothesis that provision of lipid-based nutrient supplements (LNS) containing Fe does not increase infectious morbidity in children.

Design: Randomized controlled trial.

Association between maternal dental periapical infections and pregnancy outcomes: results from a cross-sectional study in Malawi.

Objectives: Maternal infections are associated with intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) and preterm birth (PTB). Dental infections are common in low-income settings, but their contribution to adverse pregnancy outcomes is unknown. We studied the epidemiology of dental periapical infections among pregnant women and their association to foetal growth restriction and the duration of pregnancy in a rural sub-Saharan African population.

Provision of 10-40 g/d Lipid-Based Nutrient Supplements from 6 to 18 Months of Age Does Not Prevent Linear Growth Faltering in Malawi.

Background: Complementing infant diets with lipid-based nutrient supplements (LNSs) has been suggested to improve growth and reduce morbidity, but the daily quantity and the milk content of LNSs affect their cost.

Objective: We tested the hypotheses that the change in mean length-for-age z score (LAZ) for infants provided with 10-40 g LNSs/d from ages 6 to 18 mo would be greater than that for infants receiving no dietary intervention at the same age and that provision of LNSs that did not contain milk would be as good as milk-containing LNSs in promoting linear growth.

Methods: We enrolled in a randomized single-blind trial 6-mo-old infants who were allocated to 1 of 6 groups to receive 10, 20, or 40 g LNSs/d containing milk powder; 20 or 40 g milk-free LNSs/d; or no supplement until 18 mo of age.

Malawian Mothers Consider Lipid-Based Nutrient Supplements Acceptable for Children throughout a 1-Year Intervention, but Deviation from User Recommendations Is Common.

Background: Lipid-based nutrient supplements (LNSs) offer a vehicle to improve children's diets in low-income countries where complementary foods are typically deficient in essential nutrients. Sustained acceptability by the intended users is essential for achieving growth-promoting effects.

Objective: We aimed to determine the sustained acceptability of LNSs among 6- to 18-mo-old children in Malawi.

Supplementation of Maternal Diets during Pregnancy and for 6 Months Postpartum and Infant Diets Thereafter with Small-Quantity Lipid-Based Nutrient Supplements Does Not Promote Child Growth by 18 Months of Age in Rural Malawi: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Intrauterine growth restriction may be reduced by supplementing maternal diets during pregnancy, but few studies have assessed the impact of combined prenatal and postnatal interventions on child growth.

Objective: We tested a hypothesis that provision of small-quantity lipid-based nutrient supplements (SQ-LNSs) to mothers in pregnancy and 6 mo postpartum and to their infants from 6 to 18 mo of age would promote infant and child growth in the study area in rural Malawi.

Methods: We enrolled 869 pregnant women in a randomized trial in Malawi.

The impact of lipid-based nutrient supplement provision to pregnant women on newborn size in rural Malawi: a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Small birth size, often associated with insufficient maternal nutrition, contributes to a large share of global child undernutrition, morbidity, and mortality. We developed a small-quantity lipid-based nutrient supplement (SQ-LNS) to enrich the diets of pregnant women.

Objective: The objective was to test a hypothesis that home fortification of pregnant women's diets with SQ-LNS would increase birth size in an African community.