Pregnancy & Dietary Behavior
The CNP Pregnancy and Dietary Behavior Research Category consolidates research exploring the interdependent relationship between pregnancy and dietary behavior. To view each original study on the open internet, click “Original.” To view the CNP summary of the study, click “CNP Summary.” While a small portion of the studies in this research category is available below for free, the full set of studies (and their summaries) are available to CNP members through the CNP Library Membership (launching January 15, 2022).
2020
Dietary guideline adherence during preconception and pregnancy: A systematic review
This 2020 systematic review was conducted to better understand the level of adherence to dietary guidelines during preconception (of men and women) and during pregnancy (of women only). Another aim was to find out the factors that influence the subjects’ adherence. The selected studies had to include men or women aged at least 18 years who identified as either trying to conceive a baby or already pregnant. Of the 18 studies included in this review, the quality was generally rated as fair (44%) to good (56%). Most of the research indicated that preconceptual and pregnant women did not eat enough vegetables, cereal grains, or folates. Additionally, pregnant women did not meet the dietary requirements for iron or calcium intake in 91% and 55% of the studies, respectively. Fat consumption levels were also found to be excessively high compared with guidelines. Better guideline adherence was observed in pregnant women with higher level education, while older age and non-smoking status were associated with greater guideline adherence in preconceptual and pregnant women. According to these results, ladies (intent on conceiving and those pregnant) may not be meeting the minimum requirements stated in dietary guidelines and nutritional recommendations. [NPID: diet, assessment, dietary guidelines, preconception, pregnancy, nutrition, systematic review]
CNP Research Summary can be found in the CNP Library Membership
2019
Estimation of total usual dietary intakes of pregnant women in the United States
This 2019 study evaluated the diet of the 1003 pregnant US women (aged 20-40 years old) who participated in the 2001-2014 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Bailey et al. planned to assess their normal nutrient intakes (including both foods and dietary supplements), and examine what proportion of the population meet or exceed the recommendations for pregnant women in the U.S. (the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Dietary Reference Intake). While most of the pregnant women took dietary supplements, at least 10% of the sample consumed insufficient levels of magnesium, vitamin A, B6, C, and E, iron, folate, zinc, and calcium. Moreover, some pregnant women exceeded the adequate intake for potassium, choline, and vitamin K. Other concerns included the overconsumption of sodium by most of the participants, and of folic acid, iron, calcium, and zinc by some women. Women who took supplements were less likely to obtain enough iron (from food alone) to put themselves at risk, compared with those who did not take supplements. However, using supplements elevated the chances of excessive iron and folic acid intake. To summarize, a significant number of pregnant ladies are not meeting recommendations for vitamins D, C, A, B6, K, and E, folate, choline, iron, calcium, potassium, magnesium, and zinc even with the use of dietary supplements. In addition, most of the participants were at risk of sodium overconsumption and many were ingesting folic acid and iron at levels that would put them at risk. [NPID: diet, pregnancy, nutrient intake, supplements, United States]
2019
Food consumption during pregnancy and post-partum. ECLIPSES Study
In this 2019 study, Jardí et al. followed the pregnancies of 793 healthy women from the first prenatal visit to the period following childbirth. The pregnant subjects’ diets were monitored, and their clinical history, anthropometric measurements, and lifestyle habits were collected. The aim was to examine their adherence to the Spanish dietary guidelines and to the Mediterranean diet, and check whether their diets change over their gestational period and after giving birth. Although the expecting mothers did not consume enough healthy foods during pregnancy, their intake levels of sweets, and red and processed meats exceeded recommendations. Level of adherence to the Mediterranean diet was found to be medium, and this was maintained throughout pregnancy. However, there were significant dietary changes observed in the ladies after giving birth. For example, the consumption of fruits, vegetables, and cereals (salted and sweet) during pregnancy was markedly higher than during the postpartum period (following childbirth). Lastly, adherence to the Mediterranean diet was positively associated with age, social class, and education level. Those who do not drink nor smoke were also more likely to adhere well to the Mediterranean diet. In conclusion, the pregnant women from Spain deviated from the recommended consumption levels during pregnancy, stuck fairly well to the Mediterranean diet throughout the pregnancy and post-partum, and ate less healthy foods following childbirth than during the first trimester. [NPID: Mediterranean, consumption, lactation, maternal factors, post-partum, pregnancy]
CNP Research Summary can be found in the CNP Library Membership
2018
Factors associated with adherence to nutritional recommendations before and during pregnancy
In this 2018 study, 1,175 pregnant Spanish women were probed on their diets to determine the extent to which these participants adhered to the nutritional recommendations. One of the aims set by Olmedo-Requena et al. was to better understand the factors that make an individual more likely to adhere to recommendations before and during pregnancy. The statistics showed that 21% of the expecting mothers were not consuming adequate levels of vegetables and cereals, while 50% were also eating insufficient amounts of fruits. The participants met the recommended values for proteins though. With regards to factors associated with adherence to the nutritional recommendations, similar results were found for before and during pregnancy. Women who were younger, from a low social class, who smoked, and with low physical activity were less adherent to the dietary recommendations announced by the Spanish Society of Community Nutrition. Nutritional education may have a vital role in antenatal care (during pregnancy). [NPID: maternal, nutrition, habits, education, lifestyles, guidelines, pregnancy]
2020
The accelerator, the brake, and the terrain: associations of reward-related eating, self-regulation, and the home food environment with diet quality during pregnancy and postpartum in the pregnancy eating attributes study (PEAS) cohort
In this 2020 study, Nansel et al. inspect the associations between reward-related eating, self-regulation, and the home food environment with diet quality during pregnancy and following childbirth (postpartum). The women were monitored from their first trimester of pregnancy (≤12 weeks gestation) to their postpartum period (1 year after giving birth). Dietary data were all collected at each trimester and at 2, 6, and 12 months postpartum. The Healthy Eating Index scores (which measures diet quality) during pregnancy were inversely associated with reward-related eating (all measures to some extent) and with self-regulation (1 out of 2 measures). However, the relationship between postpartum dietary quality score and these outcomes was not statistically significant. As the Healthy Eating Index scores obtained during pregnancy and postpartum increased, the obesogenic scores in the Home Food Inventory were generally lower, and the fruit and vegetable scores were found to be greater. The fact that diet quality tended to be lower in women during pregnancy than the postpartum period suggests that further investigation is warranted to better understand what determines eating behaviors during pregnancy. [NPID: reward, diet quality, home, impulsivity, postpartum, pregnancy, self-regulation]