INTRODUCTIONThe exact amount of vitamin D required for pregnant women to adequately supply the foetus during pregnancy is still unclear. This randomised trial attempted to determine the optimal dose of vitamin D necessary during pregnancy in order to attain a vitamin D level > 20 ng/mL in neonates. CONCLUSION A vitamin D3 dose > 50,000 IU/month is required during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy for vitamin D-deficient pregnant women in order for their neonates to achieve serum 25(OH)D levels > 20 ng/mL. Supplementation with < 50,000 IU/month is insufficient to ensure a vitamin D level > 20 ng/mL in all neonates born to vitamin D-deficient pregnant women. METHODS

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Physical growth disorders in under 5-year-old children are a common health problem in many countries including Iran. The aim of this study was to determine effects of supplemental zinc on physical growth in preschool children with retarded linear growth. This study was a community-based randomized controlled trial on 2-5-year-old children with height-for-age below 25th percentile of National Center for Health Statistics growth chart. Ninety children were randomly assigned in zinc group (ZG) or placebo group (PG). After 6 months of zinc or placebo supplementation, we followed up the children for another 6 months. Anthropometric indicators were measured before the intervention and then monthly for 11 months. Forty children in ZG and 45 in PG concluded the study. Zinc supplementation increased weight gain in boys (P = 0.04) and girls (P = 0.05) compared to placebo but had no significant effect on mid-upper arm circumference increment in either sexes. The most significant (P = 0.001) effect of Zinc supplementation was seen in boys' height increment at the end of follow-up period. Stunted growth rate in ZG changed significantly (P = 0.01) from 26.7% to 2.5% throughout the study. This study showed that daily supplementation of 5 mg elemental zinc for 6 months improves physical growth in terms of height increment and weight gain in children with undesirable linear growth, especially in boys.

O r i g i n a l A r tic le 266 I NTRO D U C TIO NBreast milk is the single best food source for infants. However, the breast milk of mothers on normal diets only contains 25-78 IU/L of vitamin D and is therefore insufficient as a source of vitamin D for infants.(1) The optimal blood level of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) in newborns is as yet unknown.(1,2) However, it is generally accepted that a serum 25OHD level of 11 ng/mL in newborns is sufficient to prevent rickets (2,3) and that a serum 25OHD level of more than 30 ng/mL is necessary to control secondary hyperparathyroidism as well as increase calcium absorption. Serum 25OHD levels of more than 30 ng/mL are accepted as ideal, and 25OHD levels less than 20 ng/mL are considered deficient. [6][7][8][9][10] In view of such studies, we attempted to determine the time needed to attain sufficient levels of serum 25OHD in vitamin D-deficient newborns on two different vitamin D

Purpose: Some topics such as women's life style and nutrition and using some special medicines during pregnancy have been discussed and demonstrated as effective factors on infant' health. Based on recommendations in Iranian traditional medicine, we aimed to evaluate the efficacy of pomegranate paste consumed by women during their pregnancy on the neonatal jaundice incidence. Methods: In this single-blinded controlled clinical trial, 80 healthy pregnant women were randomly divided into 2 groups, as treatment and control. The treatment group members added pomegranate paste to their daily diet from the 34 th week of the pregnancy to birth, as administered. The levels of neonates' bilirubin were checked in the 5 th day of the delivery. Results: Both the need of phototherapy and the mean level of neonates' bilirubin in the group fed with pomegranate paste were significantly lesser compared to control group. The number of neonates who were undergone phototherapy in the pomegranate paste receiving group was significantly lesser than that in the control group (P value = 0.029). By measuring the total bilirubin, statically significant difference between the treatment group and the control group was seen (P value = 0.021). Conclusion: The results of this study suggest the possible effect of adding pomegranate paste to pregnant women's diet on the incidence of neonatal jaundice.