New research reinforces the importance of prenatal iron supplementation for good birth outcomes and continued good health for growing children.
最近一些新的研究强调产前补铁对安全分娩和成长中孩子的健康非常重要。
Studies over the past 20 years have pointed to the importance of micronutrients - substances found in small amounts in foods that make a big difference. One of the most important micronutrients for pregnant women is iron. Iron is vital to the development of a fetus' central nervous system, says Parul Christian, a nutritionist working at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health.
过去20年来的研究指出了微量营养素的重要性。存在于食物中的这些微量元素对身体健康至关重要。对孕妇非常重要的一种微量元素就是铁。约翰霍普金斯大学公共卫生学院营养专家帕鲁尔·克里斯琴指出，铁对于胚胎的中枢神经系统发育非常重要。
"Early iron deficiency can change the neuro-anatomy of the brain, and impact the neuro-chemistry of the central nervous system and brain metabolism, that are important for cognitive development, for sensory-motor development."
她说：“早期缺铁，会使脑部组织发生变化，影响中枢神经系统的神经化学以及脑部的新陈代谢。这些部分对认知能力以及感觉运动能力的发展等都很重要。”
But providing vitamin and micronutrient supplements to all pregnant women can be a significant financial burden in low income countries. Some experts argue that it's enough to give infants iron supplements after they're born. That was part of the reason Christian and her colleagues decided to study poor women in Nepal a decade ago. Some of the women got supplements without iron and folic acid, another important micronutrient, while others got supplements with both micronutrients.
但是在低收入国家里，为所有孕妇补充维生素和微量元素、以便使婴儿在出生前就受益的做法，是一个沉重的经济负担。有些专家说，婴儿出生以后再补铁，就足够了。这个说法促使克里斯琴10年前开始对尼泊尔的贫穷妇女进行研究。有些妇女得到的营养剂不含铁和另外一种重要微量元素叶酸，有些得到含有这两种重要微量元素的补剂。
"That study was completed in 2001 and showed iron and folic acid supplementation could have an impact on infant and later childhood survival," Christian says.
克里斯琴说：“那项研究于2001年完成。研究结果显示补铁和叶酸，对婴儿和儿童时期的生存率产生影响。”
That earlier study strengthened the case for supplements, but Christian's new research shows an even longer term impact on children who received iron in utero. She and her colleagues returned to Nepal, and were able to test the neurological development on children who were now on the brink of adolescence.
那项早期的研究进一步证实了营养补充的必要性，克里斯琴新近的研究则显示，在母体内就接受铁质补充的孩童，会得到更长久的好处。克里斯琴和她的同事回到尼泊尔，检查即将进入青春期的孩子的神经系统发育情况。
"The offspring of the mothers who had received iron and folic acid during pregnancy through three months postpartum had improved intellectual functioning including improved working memory and inhibitory control, which are domains capturing executive function, and they had better fine motor functioning ability as well."
克里斯琴说：“在怀孕期间直到产后三个月内补充铁质和叶酸的母亲，她们的孩子智力发育，包括工作记忆和自制力的控制都比较好。他们的运动功能也比较好。”
Christian adds there was a qualitative difference between these older children and those whose mothers had received the supplements without iron.
克里斯琴补充说，和母亲补充不含铁质的营养剂的孩子相比，这群年龄较大的孩子有质的不同。
She says these outcomes should remove any doubts lingering in the minds of health planners about whether or not to spend extra dollars to make sure that each pregnant woman receives iron supplementation during pregnancy. And she says in places such as the Asian subcontinent - where iron deficiency is endemic - supplementing with iron delivers an even larger bang for the public health buck.
她说，这些结果，应该足以消除健康工作人员心中对应否让每个孕妇都补铁的疑虑。而在有些地方，比如普遍缺乏铁质的南亚次大陆，补充铁质将使健康开支获得更大的收益。
Christian's research appears in the Journal of the American Medical Association. |