Pregnancy is a crucial period for mothers to ensure proper weight gain and adequate nutrients intakes. This is important for healthy fetal growth. There are increasing numbers of maternal milk supplements which claimed to provide the essential nutrients that are needed during pregnancy such as iron, folic acid, and docohexanoic acid. The current study was conducted to assess the practice of maternal milk supplements (MMS) intake among pregnant women in Kuantan, Pahang, whether or not its consumption plays a role in meeting the requirements for total energy and
nutrients intakes. Questionnaires regarding intake of MMS were distributed to 150 subjects to observe the practice of its consumption. A total of 54 subjects (from 2nd and 3rd trimesters) were interviewed to obtain their diet history using multiple pass 24-hours dietary recall method. Their total energy and nutrients intakes were compared to the Recommended Nutrients Intake for Malaysia (RNI, 2005). It was found that almost three quarter (70%) of the subjects consumed MMS. Women who consumed MMS during pregnancy were found to be significantly younger, of lower parity and lower pre-pregnancy body mass index. It was also shown that the women’s dietary intakes without MMS supplementation were insufficient to meet the RNI for total energy and
some selected nutrients. The results of this study indicate that MMS could play a role in increasing the dietary intakes of total energy, protein, and calcium, of pregnant women who are not consuming these nutrients sufficiently as recommended.