title: Vitamin A supplementation in Brazilian pregnant and postpartum women: a systematic review.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the impact of vitamin A supplementation on adult pregnant and puerperal women in Brazil regarding the content of vitamin A and secretory immunoglobulin A on colostrum and breast milk, in child's health conditions, and in mother-child binomial vitamin A status.
  
  
  METHODS
  A research was conducted in Medline, Scopus, Web of Science, and Lilacs electronic databases for the studies published between January 2000 and January 2014. The methodological quality of the studies was assessed according to Jadad scale. The study search was conducted in January 2014, independently by two authors.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Seven studies were found concerning the effects of vitamin A supplementation in the puerperal period on breast milk and infant morbidity. No study regarding pregnant women supplementation was found. The supplementation in the puerperal period raised the retinol content on breast milk, thus increasing the offer of vitamin A for the child and the concentration of secretory immunoglobulin A on colostrum. There was no description of effects on infant morbidity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  It seems that the advantages of postpartum supplementation were not established in the Brazilian program, although the supplementation contributes to a better nutritional status of vitamin A for both the child and the puerperal woman and increases the offer of vitamin A for the newborn through the breast milk.
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Saúde Pública, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Paulo Augusto Ribeiro
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Neves
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Nutrição Josué de Castro, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
authors.forename: Cláudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Saunders
authors.affiliation: Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública Sérgio Arouca, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
authors.forename: Denise Cavalcante de
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Barros
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Nutrição Josué de Castro, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
authors.forename: Andréa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ramalho
mesh_terms: D001938:Brazil; D019587:Dietary Supplements / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008895:Milk, Human; D049590:Postpartum Period; D011247:Pregnancy; D014801:Vitamin A / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D014802:Vitamin A Deficiency
chemical_list: D014801:Vitamin A