Prenatal vitamins get a fundraising boost at Nutrition for Growth summit

Multiple micronutrient supplements, or MMS — more commonly known as prenatal vitamins — are about to have their moment.

For years, researchers and advocates have been pressing for more uptake in MMS, a combination of up to 15 essential vitamins and minerals given to pregnant women in the form of powders or pills. MMS improves the health of mothers and reduces the risk that the baby will be stillborn, born early, or have a low birth weight — problems that affect millions of mothers and babies annually because women lack essential nutrients during pregnancy.

Now those efforts are getting a financing boost at the Nutrition for Growth summit in Paris this week, where governments, philanthropies, and development banks are gathered to make political and financial pledges for various interventions to prevent and treat malnutrition. The event marks the culmination of a monthslong global MMS fundraising effort.