Table 2.
Evidence synthesis: Antenatal interventions that likely reduce the risk of LBW, PTB, SGA, or stillbirth.
| Positive effect1 | Birth outcome | Relative risk2 | Quality of evidence4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Changing a two-dose IPTp regimen to more frequent IPTp dosing | LBW | 0.80 [0.69, 0.94] (N=6281)3 | Moderate |
| Replacement of IFA supplementation with MMN supplementation | LBW | 0.88 [0.85, 0.91] (N=68801)3 | High |
| SGA | 0.92 [0.88, 0.97] (N=57348)3 | Moderate | |
| Provision of proteins and energy to pregnant women with undernutrition | LBW | 0.68 [0.51, 0.92] (N=4196)3 | Moderate |
| SGA | 0.79 [0.69, 0.9] (N=4408)3 | ||
| stillbirth | 0.60 [0.39, 0.94] (N=3408)3 | ||
| Provision of lipid-based nutrient supplements instead of multiple micronutrients | LBW | 0.92 [0.86, 0.98] (N=2727)3 | Moderate |
| Supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids | LBW | 0.90 [0.82 0.99] (N=8449) | High |
| PTB | 0.89 [0.81, 0.97] (N=10304) | ||
| Provision of low-dose aspirin during pregnancy in women at high risk of preeclampsia | PTB | 0.67 [0.50, 0.90] (N=2391) | Moderate |
| SGA | 0.71 [0.58, 0.89] (N=2820) | ||
| stillbirth | 0.34 [0.19, 0.59] (N=2174) | ||
| Psychosocial interventions to reduce smoking in pregnancy | LBW | 0.83 [0.72, 0.94] (N=9420) | High |
| Prophylactic application of uterine cervical stitch (cerclage) in women at increased risk of PTB | PTB | 0.80 [0.69, 0.95] (N=2898) | High |
1
Positive effect: The intervention likely reduces the risk of the selected birth outcome: At least two moderate-to-high quality RCTs included in a meta-analysis or IPD analysis, 95% CI of the point estimate of the RR is entirely below 1.
2
Relative risk [95 % confidence interval] (number of participants).
3
The proportion of studies coming from sub-Saharan Africa or South Asia is 50% or higher.
4
The quality of evidence is based on GRADE or equivalent assessment for Cochrane reviews and on risk of bias assessment for de novo appraisal of RCTs, detailed in Supplementary Material, Section F: Assessment of quality of evidence.