Abstract
Inadequate maternal diet can adversely affect mother and child. Our aim was to assess adherence to the Spanish dietary guidelines and to the Mediterranean diet, to analyze changes in diet during pregnancy and post-partum, and to identify maternal factors associated with food consumption. A total of 793 healthy pregnant women were recruited during the first prenatal visit and followed until the post-partum period. Data from the clinical history, anthropometric measurements, and lifestyle habits were collected. Food consumption was evaluated using a food frequency questionnaire. The results show that in pregnant women the consumption of healthy foods did not meet recommendations, whereas consumption of red and processed meat and sweet food exceeded recommendations. The results also show a medium adherence to the Mediterranean diet that remained unchanged throughout pregnancy. A significant decrease was observed in the consumption of fruits, followed by vegetables and then salted and sweet cereals from pregnancy to post-partum. A better adherence to the Mediterranean diet has been reported by pregnant women that are older, of higher social class, and higher education level, and who do not smoke nor drink (p < 0.005). In conclusion, the diet of pregnant women from Spain departs from recommendations, medium adherence to the Mediterranean diet was maintained throughout the pregnancy and post-partum, and a decreasing consumption of healthy food from the first trimester to the post-partum period was observed. Maternal factors such as age, social class, education, and smoking influence diet quality.
Highlights
Maternal nutrition during pregnancy and lactation is important since inadequate amounts of essential nutrients can adversely affect both mother and child [1,2,3,4]
We evaluated the immediate post-partum and observed the same progression described during pregnancy, with no change regarding adherence to the Mediterranean diet, but an increasing lower consumption of foods associated with a healthy diet
We found that women who smoke during the first trimester consume less fruit and more sweetened beverages throughout the pregnancy and post-partum periods, and a greater amount of red and processed meat, sweet cereals, and legumes in the second trimester
Summary
Maternal nutrition during pregnancy and lactation is important since inadequate amounts of essential nutrients can adversely affect both mother and child [1,2,3,4]. The development of maternal tissues, fetal growth [5,6], and breast milk production [7] increase nutritional requirements [8]. The Mediterranean diet has been associated with a decrease in the risk of preterm delivery [12], gestational diabetes [13], higher birth weight [14], and obesity development in children [15,16]. Measures that promote healthy nutrition during pregnancy are essential, taking into account that the maternal dietary pattern can be associated with socio-economic, cultural and lifestyle factors [12,13,17,18]
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