Dietary interventions to reduce heavy metal exposure in antepartum and postpartum women: a systematic review.

Purpose: Heavy metals, which are persistent in the environment and toxic, can accumulate in the body and cause organ damage, which may further negatively affect perinatal women and their fetuses. Therefore, this systematic review was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of dietary interventions to reduce heavy metal exposure in antepartum and postpartum women.

Methods: We searched five databases (PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library) for randomized controlled trials that provided dietary interventions for antepartum and postpartum women. Quality assessments were conducted independently by two reviewers using the Cochrane Risk-of-Bias tool, a quality assessment tool for randomized controlled trials.

Results: A total of seven studies were included. The studies were conducted in six countries, with interventions categorized into "nutritional supplements," "food supply," and "educational" strategies. Interventions involving nutritional supplements, such as calcium and probiotics, primarily reduced heavy metal levels in the blood and minimized toxicity. Food-based interventions, including specific fruit consumption, decreased heavy metal concentrations in breast milk. Educational interventions effectively promoted behavioral changes, such as adopting diets low in mercury. The studies demonstrated a low overall risk of bias, supporting the reliability of the findings. These strategies underscore the effectiveness of dietary approaches in mitigating heavy metal exposure and improving maternal and child health.

Conclusion: The main findings underscore the importance of dietary interventions in reducing heavy metal exposure. This emphasizes the critical role of nursing in guiding dietary strategies to minimize exposure risks, ultimately supporting maternal and fetal health during pregnancy.