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Vitamin A and the Nursing Mother-Infant Dyad

Evidence for intervention

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Integrating Population Outcomes, Biological Mechanisms and Research Methods in the Study of Human Milk and Lactation

Part of the book series: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology ((AEMB,volume 503))

Abstract

The role of vitamin A in improving child health and survival in vitamin A deficient regions of the works was firmly established in the early 1990’s, after a series of randomized trials showed that vitamin A supplementation decreased mortality in children 6 months to 5 years of age by around 24%.1 However the importance of vitamin A to health outcomes in women of reproductive age and infants 0–6 months of age remains a topic of debate and area of active research. The prupose of this to highlight the important questions from a public health perspective, and to discuss the latest ideas and research results related to health outcomes in lactating women an their young infants. In the process, we will make the the argument that while our understandings remain imperfect, the evidence at hand is sufficient to justify more aggressive interventions to improve the vitamin A status of prefnant and lactating mothers and young infants.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Human Nutrition, Department of International Health, The Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, 615 N. Wolfe St., Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA

    Jean H. Humphrey

Authors
  1. Rebecca J. Stoltzfus
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  2. Jean H. Humphrey
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

    Margarett K. Davis

  2. New York State Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities, Staten Island, New York, USA

    Charles E. Isaacs

  3. University of Göteborg, Göteborg, Sweden

    Lars Å. Hanson

  4. University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA

    Anne L. Wright

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© 2002 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Stoltzfus, R.J., Humphrey, J.H. (2002). Vitamin A and the Nursing Mother-Infant Dyad. In: Davis, M.K., Isaacs, C.E., Hanson, L.Å., Wright, A.L. (eds) Integrating Population Outcomes, Biological Mechanisms and Research Methods in the Study of Human Milk and Lactation. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 503. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-0559-4_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-0559-4_4

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4613-5132-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4615-0559-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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