Abstract
BackgroundThe aim of this study was to describe the dietary patterns in pregnant women and determine the association between diet factors, pre-pregnancy body mass index, socio-demographic characteristics and gestational weight gain.MethodsThe analysis was conducted on a group of 458 women. Cut-off values of gestational weight gain adequacy were based on recommendations published by the US Institute of Medicine and were body mass index-specific. Logistic regression analysis was used to assess the risk of the occurrence of inadequate or excessive gestational weight gain. Dietary patterns were identified by factor analysis.ResultsThree dietary patterns characteristic of pregnant women in Poland were identified: ‘unhealthy’, ‘varied’ and ‘prudent’. The factor associated with increased risk of inadequate gestational weight gain was being underweight pre-pregnancy (OR = 2.61; p = 0.018). The factor associated with increased risk of excessive weight gain were being overweight or obese pre-pregnancy (OR = 7.00; p = 0.031) and quitting smoking (OR = 7.32; p = 0.019). The risk of excessive weight gain was decreased by being underweight pre-pregnancy (OR = 0.20; p = 0.041), being in the third or subsequent pregnancy compared to being in the first (OR = 0.37; p = 0.018), and having a high adherence to a prudent dietary pattern (OR = 0.47; p = 0.033).ConclusionsWomen who were overweight or obese pre-pregnancy and those who quit smoking at the beginning of pregnancy should be provided with dietary guidance to prevent excessive gestational weight gain.
Highlights
The aim of this study was to describe the dietary patterns in pregnant women and determine the association between diet factors, pre-pregnancy body mass index, socio-demographic characteristics and gestational weight gain
The results of our study showed that the factors related to inadequate gestational weight gain (GWG) were pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI), smoking and parity
The risk of excessive GWG was lower in women with a high adherence to the prudent dietary patterns (DP), which was characterized by a high intake of vegetables, legumes, whole grains, sea fish, milk, and dairy products, as well as a larger amount of total drinks, the consumption of a larger number of planned meals, and avoiding snacking between meals
Summary
The aim of this study was to describe the dietary patterns in pregnant women and determine the association between diet factors, pre-pregnancy body mass index, socio-demographic characteristics and gestational weight gain. In the US, GWG was within the recommended range for 32% of women giving birth to full-term babies. In 48% of cases, the increase in weight was higher, and in 21% of the cases, weight gain was lower than that recommended by the US Institute of Medicine (IOM) [1, 2]. A survey conducted between 2006 and 2015 on over 18,000 women in rural Pennsylvania showed that only 25.3% of women in this population gained weight within the recommended range – 21.3% gained an amount below and 52.9% gained an amount. Health risks related to inadequate weight gain during pregnancy involve, first and foremost, a greater risk of premature birth and a low birth weight baby and/or intrauterine hypotrophy and, an increased risk of mortality and morbidity [1, 9, 16]
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