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Nutrients
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Nutritional Requirements of Pregnant and Lactating Women
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Nutritional Requirements of Pregnant and Lactating Women

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 January 2025 | Viewed by 2617

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Ioannis Tsakiridis

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Third Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
Interests: high-risk pregnancy; maternal–fetal medicine
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Themistoklis I. Dagklis

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
3rd Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
Interests: maternal–fetal medicine; obstetrics; gynecology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Michael Chourdakis

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Laboratory of Hygiene, Social & Preventive Medicine and Medical Statistics, School of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessalonik, Greece
Interests: perinatal epidemiology; nutrition in pregnancy; nutritional epidemiology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Appropriate nutrition during pregnancy and lactation is crucial for the health of both the mother and the fetus. Adequate intake of essential nutrients supports fetal development, promotes maternal well-being, and ensures the quality of breast milk. It has been well established that failure to meet nutritional requirements adversely affects the perinatal outcome and the offspring’s long-term health. Therefore, an adequate intake of energy, protein, vitamins, and minerals during pregnancy is essential. Furthermore, avoidance of alcohol and limitation of caffeine intake are recommended to protect the infant. A developmental model for the causes of disease hypothesizes that the fetal environment may have an impact on epigenetic modifications and associated gene expression, leading that way to the onset of disease in neonates and late childhood. Thus, providing high-quality, evidence-based guidance for nutritional issues in pregnancy is an important part of effective antenatal and postnatal care. Moreover, healthcare providers should offer tailored advice and support to meet the specific needs of each woman, enhancing maternal and child health outcomes. This Special Issue aims to outline key nutritional requirements and dietary recommendations for pregnant and lactating women, emphasizing the importance of balanced nutrition during these critical stages.

Dr. Ioannis Tsakiridis
Dr. Themistoklis I. Dagklis
Dr. Michael Chourdakis
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Nutrients is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • nutrition
  • pregnancy
  • lactation
  • fetal health
  • epigenetic modifications

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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37 pages, 1230 KiB  
Review
Dietary Behaviour of Pregnant Women in Ethiopia: The Missing Aspect of Care
by Simegn Kassa Alamirew, Stefanie Lemke, Bernhard Freyer and Barbara Stadlmayr
Nutrients 2024, 16(19), 3227; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu16193227 - 24 Sep 2024
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Abstract
Background: Nutrition and adequate dietary intake during pregnancy strongly influence the health and well-being of the mother, as well as the physical and cognitive development of the unborn child. While previous studies have documented factors associated with the dietary behaviour of pregnant [...] Read more.
Background: Nutrition and adequate dietary intake during pregnancy strongly influence the health and well-being of the mother, as well as the physical and cognitive development of the unborn child. While previous studies have documented factors associated with the dietary behaviour of pregnant women in Ethiopia, a comprehensive overview is missing. Objective: The aim of this study was to close this research gap. Methodology: We conducted a mapping review, including 37 studies published between 2000 and 2022 in our analysis. Dietary behaviour refers to all phenomena related to food choice, eating behaviour and dietary intake. We used an innovative approach by integrating a socio-ecological framework with UNICEF’s conceptual framework on maternal and child nutrition, which specifies multidimensional individual, underlying and enabling determinants associated with the nutritional status of women. Importantly, we integrated a focus on care for women and healthy environments. Results: A total of 68 factors were identified as influencing the dietary behaviour of pregnant women, with a focus on the intra- (31/68) and interpersonal (21/68) levels, while factors at the community (11/68) and the institutional levels (5/68) were scarce. Few studies investigated socio-cultural aspects, such as gender roles, decision-making power and workload of women, psychological factors and eating practices related to food taboos. None of the studies explored the influence of resources at the institutional level. Conclusions: This attests that the focus in maternal nutrition is still placed on the individual responsibility of women, instead of addressing the structural conditions that would enable women to access resources such as land, education and nutrition information. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutritional Requirements of Pregnant and Lactating Women)
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29 pages, 8560 KiB  
Systematic Review
Are Maternal Dietary Patterns During Pregnancy Associated with the Risk of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus? A Systematic Review of Observational Studies
by Charikleia Kyrkou, Apostolos P. Athanasiadis, Michael Chourdakis, Stefania Kada, Costas G. Biliaderis, Georgios Menexes and Alexandra-Maria Michaelidou
Nutrients 2024, 16(21), 3632; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu16213632 - 25 Oct 2024
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Abstract
Background/Objectives: Maternal nutritional status is a “key” contributor to Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM). However, the role of maternal dietary patterns (DPs) during pregnancy remains poorly understood. Thus, we conducted a systematic review to assess associations between “a posteriori-derived” DPs and GDM. Methods: A [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: Maternal nutritional status is a “key” contributor to Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM). However, the role of maternal dietary patterns (DPs) during pregnancy remains poorly understood. Thus, we conducted a systematic review to assess associations between “a posteriori-derived” DPs and GDM. Methods: A systematic search was conducted in PubMed, ScienceDirect, Web of Science, and Scopus for cohort, cross-sectional, and case–control studies published until June 2024. A total of twenty-eight studies involving 39,735 pregnant women were included, and their quality was evaluated by the Newcastle–Ottawa Scale. The 91 identified DPs were classified into four categories: “Westernized”, “Nutritious”, “Plant-based”, and “Miscellaneous”. Results: Our findings do not reveal definitive associations between maternal DPs during pregnancy and GDM risk. Notably, “Westernized” DPs tended to be associated with an increased risk. However, a very small portion of patterns within this category exhibited protective associations. Conversely, “Nutritious” and “Plant-based” appear beneficial for GDM prevention in specific populations. The “Miscellaneous” category presented an almost equal distribution of DPs with both detrimental and protective associations, pinpointing the absence of a clear directional trend regarding GDM risk. Conclusions: The heterogeneity in findings can be attributed to geographic and sociocultural variations and methodological differences across studies. Thus, there is a need for more standardized research methodologies to provide more precise insights that will ultimately help develop effective and tailored dietary guidelines for GDM prevention. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nutritional Requirements of Pregnant and Lactating Women)
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