Spotlight on innovations in maternal and infant health to close the nutrition gap

Industry experts highlight ongoing global nutritional deficiencies in women of childbearing age and infants, which can impact pregnancy and postpartum recovery, fetal development, and lactation. 

Nutrition Insight meets with Valio, Gnosis by Lesaffre, and Dr. Paul Lohmann to examine innovative solutions in fortified milk, bioavailability, and advanced mineral delivery systems for optimal infant and women’s health. 

“A balanced and healthy maternal diet rich in critical nutrients is the foundation for the offspring’s healthy growth and development of cognitive, motor, and socioemotional skills,” says Dr. Anu Turpeinen, nutrition research manager at Valio.

She adds that Valio is developing products to address these gaps, focusing on adequate intake of protein and micronutrients, such as folic acid, vitamin D, vitamin B12, vitamin B6, vitamin A, iron, zinc, iodine, DHA, and choline. 

“One of the most effective product categories for supporting maternal health is fortified milk formulas,” says Turpeinen. “Milk is naturally an excellent source of high-quality protein, calcium, iodine, and B vitamins, and easy to fortify with other relevant nutrients.”

Focus on folate and minerals

Stefania Sala, product manager of Reproductive and Women’s Health at Gnosis by Lesaffre, notes there is still a dominance of folic acid over folate in prenatal and other pregnancy/postpartum supplement formulas. However, there is a growing shift to the natural form of folate — 5-methyltetrahydrofolate (5-MTHF). 

Sala highlights growing research demonstrating the value and benefits of 5-MTHF over folic acid. This is clinically proven to be a “more effective alternative to folic acid for pregnant women,” especially since not all women can absorb folic acid fully. 

“Quatrefolic 5-MTHF offers a significant advantage over previous generations of folates,” Sala adds. “Its high solubility and bioavailability allow Quatrefolic to deliver ‘finished’ folate directly used by the body without the need for metabolism.”

Klaus Brockhausen, sales director of Food at Dr. Paul Lohmann, says that a “strong nutritional foundation is essential for both mothers and infants.” 

He highlights several key minerals, such as iron, which prevents maternal anemia, and calcium, which maintains maternal bone density and supports fetal bone development. 

“Beyond the well-known benefits of iron and calcium, we emphasize the role of magnesium bisglycinate in supporting stress relief, sleep quality, and muscle function, crucial for both pregnancy and postpartum recovery.”

Brockhausen calls for stricter safety regulations, such as implementing globally harmonized limits for impurities like heavy metals.He adds that calcium citrate offers high bioavailability and compatibility with infant formulas, ensuring optimal bone development in newborns. At the same time, zinc bisglycinate “enhances immune function and wound healing, promoting faster recovery after childbirth.” 

Bioavailability and customization

Brockhausen says enhanced bioavailability, ultra-low impurity levels, optimized formulations, and customized mineral solutions are key to the future of maternal and infant nutrition. 

He sees a need to incentivize research in better bioavailable minerals. “Supporting scientific advancements in newly developed and innovative mineral salts like citrate-malates or taurates can improve health outcomes.”

“Our bisglycinates (magnesium, iron, and zinc) are designed for superior absorption, ensuring mothers and infants get the full benefit of these essential minerals,” he details. 

Moreover, Brockhausen calls for stricter safety regulations: “Governments should implement globally harmonized limits for impurities like heavy metals or chlorates/perchlorates to protect the most vulnerable consumers.”

“Our LomaPure concept meets the strictest global standards (such as China’s GB standards, EU regulations, and the US Closer to Zero initiative), ensuring extra-low levels of heavy metals and contaminants.” 

He adds that Dr. Paul Lohmann’s calcium citrate is ideal for infant formulas because it has extra-low levels of chlorate or perchlorate, doesn’t interact with proteins, and has a high bioavailability. 

Finally, he observes a need for educational initiatives: “Raising awareness about the importance of high-quality and fully reacted minerals in maternal and infant health can drive better consumer choices.”

Liquid delivery formats

Sala from Gnosis by Lesaffre highlights the advantages in absorption and dosage control for liquid supplements, which she says are increasingly popular. 

“They are often easier to absorb than pills or tablets, as the body can quickly process liquids. This makes them an excellent choice for people with digestive issues or trouble swallowing pills, especially infants, children, and the elderly.” 

Sala says liquid supplements are increasingly popular and can support improved absorption and dosage control.She adds that liquids result in quicker assimilation and absorption than pills as they break down more quickly in the digestive tract. “Dietary supplements in pill form must dissolve before their active ingredients become available to the body. Age, stomach acid levels, medications, pH, and other digestive issues can easily impair absorption.” 

Finally, Sala explains that liquid supplements allow for more precise and personalized dosage control and a more concentrated dose of active ingredients as they often contain fewer fillers and binders than solid forms. 

However, in the past, these delivery formats have been a challenging method for folate-containing supplements. Conventional folate ingredients are formulated with calcium salts that impact solubility. Moreover, she says most folate liquids are primarily aqueous, often facing stability issues. 

“Quatrefolic Fine Powder, delivering active folate in tiny particles, was created expressly for oily liquid suspensions, oral sprays, and complex softgels,” she says. The company achieves this stable formulation by suspending the active ingredient in a blend of medium-chain triglyceride oil and stearin. 

Gnosis by Lesaffre recently filed a formulation patent for Quatrefolic Fine Powder’s use in oily liquid products. 

Sala adds: “The invention also discloses that Gnosis’s unique formulation process eliminates the risk of sedimentation, ensuring high solubility and enhanced chemical and physical stability. The formulation was tested for active ingredient stability (accelerated study at temperatures up to 40°C and RH 75%) without showing any drop in potency or color changes.” 

Supporting lactation

Sala also highlights the benefits of folate and Quatrefolic 5-MTHF in supporting healthy lactation. “Folate figures prominently in healthy lactation as breast milk is an important dietary source of folate during the first year of life.” 

“Breastfeeding, however, may cause a decline in folate concentrations in breast milk and maternal blood. Therefore, ensuring that breast milk remains high in folate, or folate-enriched formula is critical for newborn health.” 

Sala points to research indicating that folic acid supplementation in lactating women is associated with increased unmetabolized folic acid (UMFA) in maternal blood, breast milk, and infant blood, which may impede benefits gained from vitamin B9.

Valio highlights the importance of improving dietary shortfalls and excesses among children for their healthy growth and development beyond infancy.“In contrast, lactating women who supplemented Quatrefolic did not exhibit an increase of UMFA and showed more efficient increases in blood folate (red blood cell folate and plasma total folate) in their infants as well as the total folate concentrations in breast milk.” 

Infant and child nutrition

Sinikka Saikkonen, business development manager at Valio, says infant formulas are the next best choice if breastfeeding is not feasible. She stresses the importance of collaboration between health organizations, governments, and the nutrition industry to provide newborns with the best possible start in life — a common goal for all operators. 

“In infant formulas, this means developing the products continuously closer to breast milk to support optimal growth and development.” 

“Specific nutritional needs of infants are well recognized in guidelines and regulations, but there is also a call for recognition of the distinct nutritional requirements and efficacy of specialized food products for mothers and young children.”

Additionally, Saikkonen says that governments and health organizations can provide the food industry with valuable information to develop products that address nutritional challenges by sharing their concerns over dietary deficiencies and excesses among mothers and children. 

“Good nutrition is not only important in the first 1,000 days of life but should be an ongoing process, in which the pre-school and school years also play an essential role,” she continues. “Improving dietary shortfalls and excesses among children is important for their healthy growth and cognitive development beyond infancy.” 

She underscores that children’s nutritional intake deserves special attention. Recommended nutrient requirements are higher than those for adults on a per-kilogram basis, as rapid growth and development takes place in childhood. 

“Because present diets offered to toddlers and young children often do not meet all the nutrient requirements, fortified foods could be helpful,” says Saikkonen. “Valio has developed scientifically formulated milk powders for children, which, together with a balanced and varied diet, can improve the intake of essential micronutrients and address the nutritional gaps.”