Earlier observations from this Institute have indicated that the infants born to mothers receiving
folic acid supplements in addition to
iron during pregnancy were heavier than those born to mothers receiving
iron alone. Since
birth weights are influenced by maternal factors like height and parity, a trial was carried on in matched controls with
iron and
iron and
folic acid during the last 12 to 16 weeks of pregnancy. Simultaneously, placental function was also assessed. The effect of the
folic acid supplements was more marked on first born children. Incidence of small-for-dates births was half in the
iron and
folate-supplemented group as compared with the
iron-supplemented group. The heights of mothers did not make any difference on the effect of
folate supplement. The improvement in the
birth weights seem to have been brought about by increase in placental size, cell number, and
protein content in the
folate supplement group. In view of multivariant deficiency and practical problems in implementing food supplement programs to expectant mothers, supplements of
folate and
iron to expectant mothers in large scale may bring about an improvement in the incidence of pregnancy
anemia and also reduce the infant morbidity and mortality rate due to the high incidence of low-birth weight babies.