Maternal nutrition Flashcards
What are the short term consequences of malnutrition during early life?
Poor physical and mental maternal health, intrauterine growth retardation, low birth weight and premature birth, stunting, neurodevelopmental delays, poor immune development, maternal and infant morbidity and mortality
In a nutshell, why is the first 1000 days of life important?
Period of high plasticity
What conditions may arise that could be classed as maternal morbidity during or after pregnancy?
Diabetes after gestational diabetes, CVD, infections, blood clots, anaemia, depression and anxiety
What are the causes of low birth weight?
Preterm birth, intrauterine growth restriction
What is macrosomia and what is it caused by?
Babies born much larger than average, causes include maternal overweight/obesity or pre existing or gestational diabetes
What are the consequences of maternal underweight?
↑ risk for low birth weight / SGA
What are the consequences of maternal overweight?
↑ risk for pre-eclampsia, ↑ risk for gestational diabetes, ↑ risk for excessive birth weight (macrosomia) / LGA, Reduced placental functioning
What are the key micronutrients in pregnancy that have a 50% increase of requirements?
Iron, iodine, folate
- What is folate important for in pregnancy?
- What are the consequences of deficiency?
- Who is at risk of deficiency?
- What are the management and prevention strategies?
- production of red blood cells, development of neural tube and DNA and RNA repair
- anaemia , spina bifida, adverse pregnancy and birth outcomes
- unplanned pregnancy, offspring of men and women with spina bifida, diabetes
- adequate intake/ folic acid supplement before conception, UK gov flour fortification, green leafy veg, yeast extract, citrus, beans, lentils
- What is iron important for in pregnancy?
- What are the consequences of deficiency?
- Who is at risk of deficiency?
- What are the management and prevention strategies?
- Regulation of biological processes, development of placenta and foetus
- ↑ Maternal morbidity & mortality, ↑ Prematurity, ↑ IUGR, ↑ Low birth weight, Associated with maternal perinatal depression
- women with inflammatory conditions, vegetarians and vegans, women with recent blood loss
- dietary sources- red meat, pulses, nuts, eggs, green leafy veg, wholemeal bread, dried fruit, fortified foods. Delayed umbilical cord clamping
- What is iodine important for in pregnancy?
- What are the consequences of deficiency?
- Who is at risk of deficiency?
- What are the management and prevention strategies?
- essential for production of thyroid hormones, required for fetal growth and brain development, maternal thyroid hormones must cover fetal needs during first 2 months
- severe: abortion and stillbirth, cretinism in offspring, IUGR. Mild: hypothyroidism and goiter, low birth weight, cognitive decline in offspring
- women not consuming enough dairy products, women with thyroid disorder, overweight or obese women
- mandatory fortification of table salt or salt used for food processing in many countries around the world, but not in UK→ putting UK women at risk
What is vitamin D important for in pregnancy?
Foetus dependant on maternal stores for musculoskeletal development
What are the consequences of vitamin D deficiency in pregnancy?
- Neonatal rickets
- Gestational diabetes, pre-eclampsia, preterm birth
What is the evidence regarding antenatal multiple micronutrient supplementation?
There is convincing evidence highlighting the benefits of antenatal multiple micronutrient supplementation (MMS) over iron-folic acid supplementation alone. Especially in LMIC
What is the research on preterm birth and omega-3 supplementation?
Preterm birth <37 weeks and early preterm birth <34 weeks were reduced in women receiving omega-3 LCPUFA compared with no omega-3.
