There is an urgent need to better understand the micronutrient demands of pregnancy due to the complex physiological adaptations during the gestational period and the importance of micronutrients in maternal-fetal health. However, the rigorous study of micronutrients in pregnancy is significantly lacking due to a number of issues including the exclusion of pregnant people in research, methodological barriers to studying micronutrients, and the multidisciplinary expertise required for such studies. Stable isotopes present a unique methodological opportunity to quantify pregnancy-related changes in the absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion of micronutrients. However, we demonstrate here through a rapid review of the published literature that this approach is dramatically underutilized outside of calcium. In this perspective we discuss the use of stable isotopes to study micronutrient physiology and our experiences in addressing the need for more studies in this area. Lastly, we discuss how we might overcome major barriers to move towards a better understanding of micronutrient physiology in pregnancy.

中文翻译：

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更稳定地了解妊娠微量营养素代谢

由于妊娠期间复杂的生理适应以及微量营养素在母胎健康中的重要性，迫切需要更好地了解妊娠对微量营养素的需求。然而，由于许多问题，包括将孕妇排除在研究中、研究微量营养素的方法障碍以及此类研究所需的多学科专业知识，严重缺乏对孕期微量营养素的严格研究。稳定同位素为量化微量营养素吸收、分布、代谢和排泄方面与妊娠相关的变化提供了独特的方法学机会。然而，我们在这里通过对已发表文献的快速审查证明，这种方法在钙以外的情况下没有得到充分利用。从这个角度来看，我们讨论了使用稳定同位素来研究微量营养素生理学以及我们在解决该领域更多研究需求方面的经验。最后，我们将讨论如何克服主要障碍，以更好地了解怀孕期间的微量营养素生理学。