Dietary Patterns and Nutrient Intake in Pregnant Women (2nd Edition)

A special issue of Nutrients (ISSN 2072-6643). This special issue belongs to the section "Nutrition in Women".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 5 July 2024 | Viewed by 4417

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Massey Institute of Food Science and Technology, College of Sciences, Massey University, Palmerston North 4410, New Zealand
Interests: iodine; thyroid; micronutrients; pregnancy; breastfeeding; infancy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Senior Lecturer in Human Nutrition, School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Plymouth, Drake Circus, Plymouth, Devon PL4 8AA, UK
Interests: dietary interventions to improve nutrition in women during pregnancy and in young children; management of obesity during pregnancy and childhood; micronutrient status in women and children
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Optimum nutrition in pregnancy is important for the health and wellbeing of the mother and the developing child. Nutrition at this time influences the physiological development and metabolism of the foetus and has the potential to determine the future health and disease risk of the offspring. Nutritional status during pregnancy also influences the mother’s breast milk, her nutritional status in future pregnancies, and the impact on the burden of chronic disease worldwide. Determining optimal nutrition for different stages of pregnancy and measuring nutrient intake is challenging. Across the world and within communities, different dietary patterns have been identified and linked to health outcomes. Dietary patterns, rather than individual food constituents and nutrients, may have a greater influence on health. This Special Issue seeks to bring together global research on dietary patterns and nutrient intakes during pregnancy to further our understanding of the influence of diet on maternal and foetal/infant outcomes.

Dr. Louise Brough
Dr. Gail Rees
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • dietary patterns
  • nutrition
  • nutrient intake
  • pregnancy
  • dietary intake

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 2174 KiB  
Article
Association between Dietary Patterns during Pregnancy and Children’s Neurodevelopment: A Birth Cohort Study
by Jiajun Ouyang, Wenjin Cai, Penggui Wu, Juan Tong, Guopeng Gao, Shuangqin Yan, Fangbiao Tao and Kun Huang
Nutrients 2024, 16(10), 1530; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu16101530 - 19 May 2024
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Abstract
Background: Research studies have showed that maternal diet may influence fetal neurodevelopment, but most studies have only assessed single nutrients or food groups. Objective: To investigate the impact of maternal prenatal dietary patterns during pregnancy on child neurodevelopment. Methods: Study participants were obtained [...] Read more.
Background: Research studies have showed that maternal diet may influence fetal neurodevelopment, but most studies have only assessed single nutrients or food groups. Objective: To investigate the impact of maternal prenatal dietary patterns during pregnancy on child neurodevelopment. Methods: Study participants were obtained from the China National Birth Cohort. The Ages and Stages Questionnaire, Third Edition, was used to assess children’s neurodevelopment at 36 months old. Maternal antenatal dietary data were collected over three trimesters using food frequency questionnaires. Five distinct maternal dietary patterns throughout pregnancy were identified by principal component analysis, namely protein- and micronutrient-rich dietary patterns, low-iron dietary patterns, pasta as the staple food dietary patterns, iron-rich dietary patterns, tubers, fruits, and baked food dietary patterns. Group-based trajectory modeling was performed for dietary patterns present in all three periods. Multiple linear regression models were used for statistical analysis. Results: Children of mothers who followed a high protein- and micronutrient-rich dietary pattern trajectory during pregnancy presented better neurodevelopment, including higher gross motor and problem-solving scores. Furthermore, it was observed that children born of women with low-iron dietary patterns had poorer neurodevelopment. In detail, children born to mothers with a low-iron dietary pattern during the first trimester had lower problem-solving scores, while to those who were exposed to a low-iron dietary pattern in the second and third trimesters had lower gross motor scores. Additionally, children with mothers who had a low-iron dietary pattern in the third trimester had lower communication scores. Conclusions: A nutrition-balanced protein- and micronutrient-rich dietary pattern and adequate iron dietary pattern for mothers throughout pregnancy may be beneficial to children’s neurodevelopment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Dietary Patterns and Nutrient Intake in Pregnant Women (2nd Edition))
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16 pages, 671 KiB  
Article
The Impact of Maternal Plant-Based Diet on Obstetric and Neonatal Outcomes—A Cross-Sectional Study
by Paulina Przybysz, Adrian Kruszewski, Joanna Kacperczyk-Bartnik and Ewa Romejko-Wolniewicz
Nutrients 2023, 15(22), 4717; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15224717 - 8 Nov 2023
Viewed by 2008
Abstract
Background: In the last decades, plant-based diets have gained popularity. Pregnancy is not a contraindication to follow a meat-free diet. This study aimed to compare maternal and neonatal outcomes between women who followed a plant-based diet with those on an omnivore diet. Our [...] Read more.
Background: In the last decades, plant-based diets have gained popularity. Pregnancy is not a contraindication to follow a meat-free diet. This study aimed to compare maternal and neonatal outcomes between women who followed a plant-based diet with those on an omnivore diet. Our second purpose was to investigate the association between physical activity level in combination with diet type and the occurrence of GDM and gestational hypertension. Methods: A questionnaire was distributed electronically via social media. The survey was conducted on a population of Polish women. Results: The final research group included 1015 women. The results showed that a maternal plant-based diet 6 months before pregnancy and during pregnancy does not change the incidence of GDM, anemia, and gestational hypertension. Moreover, no association was found between a diet type before conception and a delivery method or newborn birth weight. Among women who followed an omnivore diet, the risk of GDM was lower in a group with adequate physical activity during 6 months before conception (p = 0.0166). However, the combination of a plant-based diet with adequate activity during the preconception period did not influence GDM incidence. Conclusions: Our study indicates that a plant-based diet during the preconception period is not worse than an omnivore diet. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Dietary Patterns and Nutrient Intake in Pregnant Women (2nd Edition))
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11 pages, 876 KiB  
Article
Vitamin D Intake and Serum Levels in Pregnant and Postpartum Women
by Laila Meija, Anna Piskurjova, Ksenija Nikolajeva, Olga Aizbalte, Roberta Rezgale, Aivars Lejnieks and Vinita Cauce
Nutrients 2023, 15(15), 3493; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15153493 - 7 Aug 2023
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Abstract
Maternal vitamin D deficiency, which is highly prevalent in pregnant women in Europe, is linked to adverse health effects for both the mother and child. The objective was to assess vitamin D status in pregnant women by evaluating their dietary and supplemental vitamin [...] Read more.
Maternal vitamin D deficiency, which is highly prevalent in pregnant women in Europe, is linked to adverse health effects for both the mother and child. The objective was to assess vitamin D status in pregnant women by evaluating their dietary and supplemental vitamin D intake, serum vitamin D levels, parathyroid hormone levels, and lifestyle factors. This cross-sectional study, with a total of 735 participants (145 pregnant and 590 up to the seventh day postpartum), took place in Latvia. Blood samples, a food frequency questionnaire, and medical documentation were used for data collection. The median serum vitamin D concentration was 34.0 ng/mL, with pregnant women having higher levels (42.9 ng/mL) than postpartum women (31.8 ng/mL). There was no association between vitamin D serum concentration and dietary intake of vitamin D (p > 0.05), whereas there was a significant correlation with use of vitamin D supplements (r = 0.41; p < 0.001 in pregnant women and r = 0.35; p < 0.001 in postpartum women). This study demonstrated that a minority of pregnant women (21.9%) had optimal serum vitamin D concentration (>45 ng/mL), and diet had no significant impact on vitamin D levels. Thus, our proposed recommendation for vitamin D intake during pregnancy was 63 mcg (2500 IU) year-round for optimal levels in pregnant women in Northeastern Europe. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Dietary Patterns and Nutrient Intake in Pregnant Women (2nd Edition))
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