Nutrition in Caring for Pregnant Women During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Low-Income Countries

Abstract

In recent months, the greatest health challenge worldwide has been the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19. During pregnancy, women are especially vulnerable perhaps in part because of fluctuations in levels of hormones that are involved in the immune response, and therefore, they need to take special preventive measures. In addition to measures to avoid the spread of the virus, such as handwashing, masks, and social distancing, it is important to ensure that food intakes are healthy, adequate, and high in both nutritional quality and food safety. Supportive nutrition through the provision of food baskets adequate in energy, protein, calcium, iron, folic acid, choline, omega-3 fatty acids, and vitamin D at levels sufficient for pregnancy is likely to be needed for many pregnant women in low-income families or families where spouses, jobs, and income have been lost because of COVID-19.