Abstract
Nutritional status during pregnancy can have a significant impact on maternal and neonatal health outcomes. Requirements for macronutrients such as energy and protein increase during pregnancy to maintain maternal homeostasis while supporting foetal growth. Energy restriction can limit gestational weight gain in women with obesity; however, there is insufficient evidence to support energy restriction during pregnancy. In undernourished women, balanced energy/protein supplementation may increase birthweight whereas high protein supplementation could have adverse effects on foetal growth. Modulating carbohydrate intake via a reduced glycaemic index or glycaemic load diet may prevent gestational diabetes and large-for-gestational-age infants. Certain micronutrients are also vital for improving pregnancy outcomes, including folic acid to prevent neural tube defects and iodine to prevent cretinism. Newly published studies support the use of calcium supplementation to prevent hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, particularly in women at high risk or with low dietary calcium intake. Although gaps in knowledge remain, research linking nutrition during pregnancy to maternofoetal outcomes has made dramatic advances over the last few years. In this review, we provide an overview of the most recent evidence pertaining to macronutrient and micronutrient requirements during pregnancy, the risks and consequences of deficiencies and the effects of supplementation on pregnancy outcomes.
Highlights
Pregnancy is a time of rapid and profound physiological changes from the time of conception until birth
A healthy and varied diet remains the preferred means of meeting nutritional requirements, some nutritional needs in pregnancy are challenging to meet with diet alone
We aimed to describe the current state of knowledge on this topic and recast it in an objective manner and in an accessible and compact form
Summary
Pregnancy is a time of rapid and profound physiological changes from the time of conception until birth. Nutritional requirements increase during pregnancy to maintain maternal metabolism and tissue accretion while supporting foetal growth and development [1]. Poor dietary intakes or deficiencies in key macronutrients and micronutrients can have a substantial impact on pregnancy outcomes and neonatal health. A healthy and varied diet remains the preferred means of meeting nutritional requirements, some nutritional needs in pregnancy are challenging to meet with diet alone. Supplement use may be prescribed and food fortification programs such as salt iodization, vitamin D-fortified milk and folate-fortified breads and cereals play an important role in supporting women to meet the increased nutritional demands of pregnancy [3]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
