Maternal nutrition during pregnancy is an important determinant of birth outcome and infant health. Inadequate nutritional intake before and during pregnancy can affect the development of the baby and even the occurrence of disease in adult life.
In many societies maternal nutrition may be inadequate or excessive. Mothers may tend to consume large amounts of very high-calorie foods and take large supplements to help their developing babies grow. On the contrary, it can be seen that the mother eats insufficient calories before pregnancy or takes insufficient calories to prevent excess weight gain during pregnancy.
Inadequate and malnutrition during pregnancy; It causes spontaneous abortions, stillbirths, neonatal deaths, and low birth weight babies. Different studies have shown that inadequate nutritional intake in the early stages of pregnancy increases the risk of infants being prone to Type 2 diabetes, obesity, and coronary heart disease in later stages.
Consumption of a diet high in saturated fat or high in calories during pregnancy has been shown to cause consequences such as insulin resistance, diabetes, hypertension and obesity in adulthood. Strikingly, there are studies showing that mother has high maternal fat intake during pregnancy increases the risk of breast cancer in the next two generations. In addition, pregnant women with a high calorie diet and high body mass index were determined to have a higher risk of gestational diabetes, hypertension, and cesarean delivery.
Inadequate or high intake of micronutrients such as folic acid, iron, zinc, B12 material, omega fatty acids during pregnancy is also very important.
While most of the iron accumulated by the mother’s diet is used for the formation of the baby’s blood cells, the rest is required for the baby and the placenta. Folic acid deficiency can cause Neural Tube Defect anomaly in the baby. It has been observed that infants of mothers with a limited zinc diet show a lower sensitivity to high blood sugar and insulin hormone over time. Babies of mothers with low B12 values may have variable immune functions and high blood pressure in later life. It is known that adequate omega fatty acid intake of the mother before birth reduces cognitive functions, visual acuity, sleep status in infancy, and susceptibility to allergenicity at the age of 4-7 years. In addition, 60% of the baby’s brain weight in the mother’s womb consists of fatty acids, and half of this is omega 3 fatty acids and half is omega 6 fatty acids. All these micronutrients are of great importance for the baby and adequate and correct consumption is essential during pregnancy.
Alcohol consumption during pregnancy is also an important issue to consider. Studies have been conducted showing that babies exposed to alcohol during pregnancy face problems such as learning difficulties, memory problems, depression and psychosis in the future. Especially in the second half of pregnancy, alcohol slows down the activity of nerve cells.
The rate of caffeine intake is also one of the most researched issues in the nutrition process during pregnancy. Caffeine intake of 100 mg/day increases the risk of spontaneous abortion in the first trimester, and caffeine intake of 500 mg/day has a toxic effect on the baby. Therefore, attention should be paid to the amount of consumption. Obtained research data have shown that 100-200 mg of caffeine intake is safe for pregnant women.
Research continues on foods and beverages containing sweeteners and consumption during pregnancy. Sweeteners such as saccharine and Asasulfame-K are known to pass through the placenta to the baby, but despite their long-term effects on pregnant women, studies and data are limited. Therefore, it is recommended that mothers stay away from products containing sweeteners.
Apart from the nutrient contents, nutrition during pregnancy that it can affect the taste preference and food acceptance in early childhood, as well as the development of the baby, especially in the first periods.
Accordingly, it is thought that the mother’s food choice during pregnancy may affect the child’s food preference as a potential effects of exposure to intrauterine taste and odor.
As a result, during the whole pregnancy, the mother should pay attention to the amount of nutrition and food intake rates and should be planned correctly. You can get detailed information by clicking on the link https://www.evolvia.com…… for the nutrition during pregnancy.
References:
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