Define Maternal Dietary Intake and Foetal Outcome?
Among the various nutrients, energy intake appears to be the most crucial, for developing countries. Studies from India have reported lower mean birth weight for lower income urban and rural mothers who had an energy intake of 1200-1600 Kcal pre pregnancy weight of 43 kg and a weight gain during pregnancy of only 5-6 kg. The mean birth weight of the infants was 2.7 kg. As against this women from upper socio-economic groups with energy intake of 2000-2500 Kcal, pre pregnancy weight of 45-55 kg, and a weight gain of 11 kg, had babies with a mean birth weight of 3.1 Kg. It is not only the energy intake during pregnancy but chronic energy deficiency from early childhood that is a major factor in the low body weights of the lower income women. Therefore, body weight changes must occur much before pregnancy.
Iron and folate are the other crucial nutrients that have an effect on birth weight. A recent review concluded that there was enough evidence to suggest that iron deficiency anaemia resulted in higher occurrence of LBW through pre filature deliveries. Folate supplementation of pregnant women was shown to improve birth weights. Additionally, dietary foblate deficiency is implicated in neural tube defect, as you may already be aware by now.