About the MoMS Project

Good nutrition is vital for women’s health, especially during the reproductive years. Yet across many low- and middle-income settings, women continue to face diets that are limited in variety and low in essential nutrients such as iron, folate, vitamin A, vitamin B-complex, zinc, and iodine.

These deficiencies are not minor. They can increase the risk of anaemia, poor maternal health, low birth weight, preterm birth, and other adverse outcomes for both mother and baby.

At the same time, women’s nutrition is shaped by more than food alone. Education, income, cultural norms, household decision-making, access to health services, and the quality of antenatal care all influence what women eat and whether they are able to use supplements as recommended.

Despite the importance of these issues, detailed county-level data remain limited. There is still too little local evidence on what women in Bungoma are eating, which nutrients may be lacking, how common anaemia is, and what helps or hinders supplement adherence during pregnancy.

The MoMS formative study seeks to build a clear, practical picture of women’s nutrition in Bungoma County and the systems that support maternal health.

The Mother Micronutrient Supplement for Pregnancy and Lactation (MoMS) Project is a collaborative research initiative led by the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) in partnership with the University of Copenhagen, the University of Bergen, and Innlandet Hospital.

The project is exploring whether enhanced multiple micronutrient supplements can improve pregnancy outcomes and support child growth more effectively than the current standard supplement used globally.

It will assess food security, dietary patterns, nutrient intake, nutritional status, and associated socio-economic factors among women of reproductive age, while also exploring perceptions, facilitators, and barriers related to optimal micronutrient supplement use in pregnancy in Bungoma County.