Abstract
BackgroundA woman’s diet while pregnant can play an important role in her reproductive health as well as the health of her unborn child. Diet quality and nutrient intake amongst pregnant women residing in the rural Lower Mississippi Delta (LMD) region of the United States is inadequate. The Delta Healthy Sprouts Project was designed to test the comparative impact of two home visiting programs on weight status, dietary intake, and health behaviors of women and their infants residing in the LMD region. This paper reports results pertaining to maternal diet quality and nutrient intake in the gestational period.MethodsThe experimental arm (PATE) received monthly home visits beginning in the second trimester using the Parents as Teachers curriculum enhanced with a nutrition and lifestyle behavior curriculum. The control arm (PAT) received monthly home visits using the Parents as Teachers curriculum only. Maternal diet was assessed via 24-h dietary recall at gestational months (GM) 4 (baseline), 6, and 8. Diet quality was computed using the Healthy Eating Index-2010 (HEI-2010).ResultsGestational period retention rates for PAT and PATE arms were 77 % (33/43) and 67 % (26/39), respectively. Significant effects were not found for time, treatment, or time by treatment for the HEI-2010 total or component scores, macro- or micronutrient intake or percentage of women meeting recommended nutrient intakes.ConclusionsPerhaps due to low participant enrollment and higher than expected rates of drop out and noncompliance, we were not able to demonstrate that the enhanced nutrition and lifestyle curriculum (PATE) intervention had a significant effect on diet quality or nutrient intake during pregnancy in this cohort of rural, Southern, primarily African American women.Trial registrationclinicaltrials.gov, NCT01746394. Registered 5 December 2012.
Highlights
A woman’s diet while pregnant can play an important role in her reproductive health as well as the health of her unborn child
We recently reported that maternal diet quality and nutrient intake in the early 2nd trimester amongst pregnant women residing in the Lower Mississippi Delta (LMD) region is strikingly inadequate [23]
Compliance rates for the gestational months (GM) 6 and GM 8 visits were 88 and 84 %, respectively, for Parents as Teachers® (PAT) participants, and 67 and 51 %, respectively, for Parents as Teachers enhanced curriculum (PATE) participants. Compliance rates for both visits were significantly lower in the PATE arm (p = 0.018 and 0.002, respectively)
Summary
A woman’s diet while pregnant can play an important role in her reproductive health as well as the health of her unborn child. Tussing-Humphreys et al Maternal Health, Neonatology, and Perinatology (2016) 2:8 are critical during pregnancy, nutritional research has shifted away from examining single nutrients and has begun to focus on examining the relationship between overall diet, maternal diet quality, and maternal and fetal health [6]. This approach allows for the examination of total diet and the synergy of nutrients eaten together from various foodstuffs [7]. Interventions designed to optimize maternal diet during the gestational period have the potential to positively impact both maternal and fetal health
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