This 2019 study evaluated the diet of the 1003 pregnant US women (aged 20-40 years old) who participated in the 2001-2014 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Bailey et al. planned to assess their normal nutrient intakes (including both foods and dietary supplements), and examine what proportion of the population meet or exceed the recommendations for pregnant women in the U.S. (the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Dietary Reference Intake). While most of the pregnant women took dietary supplements, at least 10% of the sample consumed insufficient levels of magnesium, vitamin A, B6, C, and E, iron, folate, zinc, and calcium. Moreover, some pregnant women exceeded the adequate intake for potassium, choline, and vitamin K. Other concerns included the overconsumption of sodium by most of the participants, and of folic acid, iron, calcium, and zinc by some women. Women who took supplements were less likely to obtain enough iron (from food alone) to put themselves at risk, compared with those who did not take supplements. However, using supplements elevated the chances of excessive iron and folic acid intake. To summarize, a significant number of pregnant ladies are not meeting recommendations for vitamins D, C, A, B6, K, and E, folate, choline, iron, calcium, potassium, magnesium, and zinc even with the use of dietary supplements. In addition, most of the participants were at risk of sodium overconsumption and many were ingesting folic acid and iron at levels that would put them at risk.
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