Maternal Diet and Diet-Related Lifestyles with Maternal and Child Health

A special issue of Nutrients (ISSN 2072-6643). This special issue belongs to the section "Nutrition and Public Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 5 July 2024 | Viewed by 1816

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Division of Behavioral Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, State University of New York at Buffalo, New York, NY 14214, USA
Interests: maternal and child health; pregnancy; pediatric obesity; dietary; lifestyle; substance use

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Guest Editor
Department of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14214, USA
Interests: maternal nutrition; fetal programming; dietary lipids; bioactive compounds; animal models

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Maternal nutritional status around the time of pregnancy (e.g., before, during, and after) will affect numerous health outcomes for both mothers and babies. Increasing evidence suggests that adherence to a healthy lifestyle, including a balanced diet during pregnancy and beyond pregnancy, is associated with reduced risks of adverse offspring birth outcomes and childhood abnormal growth (e.g., wasting, stunting, overweight, and obesity). The relationship between maternal diet and child health outcomes is often based on a single or a few food items or nutrients. Moreover, dietary patterns can also be used to provide a more complete assessment of the maternal diet. Some research highlights the potential benefits of adopting healthy dietary patterns or optimizing multiple lifestyle behaviors to prevent adverse maternal and child health outcomes. In addition, the maternal diet can be influenced by and interact with other lifestyle measures, such as physical activities, sleep, substance use, stress, and socialization; however, there is a need for more studies on diverse populations in order to strengthen existing findings and enable strong conclusions to be drawn.

This Special Issue will include manuscripts that focus on the latest research examining the role of the maternal diet and/or other related lifestyle aspects in subsequent maternal and child health outcomes. Both human and animal research will be considered. The presented materials are the result of the international scientific cooperation of experts specializing in these issues. The content may be useful for clinical practitioners and inspire further innovative research.

Dr. Xiaozhong Wen
Dr. Todd C. Rideout
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • maternal
  • pregnancy
  • preconception
  • postpartum
  • diet
  • dietary patterns
  • healthy lifestyle
  • health outcomes
  • intergenerational
  • developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD)
  • human
  • animal model

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

14 pages, 735 KiB  
Article
Fish Consumption during Pregnancy in Relation to National Guidance in England in a Mixed-Methods Study: The PEAR Study
by Lucy Beasant, Jenny Ingram and Caroline M. Taylor
Nutrients 2023, 15(14), 3217; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15143217 - 20 Jul 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1559
Abstract
Guidance on foods to limit or avoid in pregnancy is provided on the NHS website for England. Advice on fish consumption is related to exposure to mercury, dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls, which may have adverse effects on fetal neurodevelopment. Our aim was to [...] Read more.
Guidance on foods to limit or avoid in pregnancy is provided on the NHS website for England. Advice on fish consumption is related to exposure to mercury, dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls, which may have adverse effects on fetal neurodevelopment. Our aim was to provide evidence on the effectiveness of the guidance in minimising exposure to toxins while maximising nutrient intake in a mixed-methods study. An online questionnaire on fish consumption before/during pregnancy was completed by postpartum women (≤12 months) in England (n = 598). A subsample of participants was invited to take part in an interview (n = 14). Women who ate fish before pregnancy reduced their intakes of both oily and white fish during pregnancy, with some avoiding it altogether. Women did not exceed the limit on tinned tuna, but there was evidence of mis-recall on the suggested limit. Overall intakes of fish were below that recommended during pregnancy (36% compliance for pre-pregnancy consumers). Barriers to fish consumption included risk aversion, confusion over specific details of the guidance, cost, availability, family preferences and smell/taste. Clarity and simplicity of the NHS guidance, with an overall message on the number of portions of fish a week advised prominently shown, would help pregnant women to benefit from the nutrients in fish while minimising exposure to toxins. The guidance on the number of cans of tuna advised per week is poorly recalled and needs to be disseminated accurately. The guidance on shark/marlin/swordfish could receive less prominence as it is rarely eaten by pregnant women in England. Full article
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