Prevalence of Dietary Supplement use and its Relation to Maternal Characteristics in Iranian Pregnant Women

Background: Based on the available evidence, diet alone cannot fulfill maternal and fetal nutritional demands during pregnancy. Therefore, taking dietary supplements are recommended during pregnancy worldwide. Maternal socio-demographic characteristics can affect dietary supplements consumption during pregnancy. Little information is available with regard to the dietary supplement consumption in Iranian pregnant women. Objective: This cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the prevalence of dietary supplement use in Iranian pregnant woman. Methods: 250 pregnant women in their third trimester of pregnancy attending the obstetric clinic affiliated to Hamadan University of Medical Sciences between February and August 2018 were asked to complete a questionnaire. Information including socio-demographic and other related characteristics of precipitants and use of any dietary supplements during their current pregnancy was collected. Chi-square test and independent sample t-test were used to determine the association between variables. Results: The results showed that dietary supplement use among Iranian pregnant women was relatively high (69%). Folic acid was the most common supplement used by the participants (66%) followed by multivitamin (52%) and Iron (48.6%). However, only 26.4% of pregnant women reported consumption of folic acid prior to pregnancy. The consumption of dietary supplements was directly associated with the age (P=0.003), level of education (P<0.001), family income (P=0.03), and the history of miscarriage (P=0.047). Conclusion: Although dietary supplement use among Iranian pregnant women was relatively high, pregnant women with poor socio-economic status do not consume required dietary supplements. Thus, vulnerable groups can benefit from educational and financial supports during pregnancy.