Background/Objectives: Pregnancy is a critical period in a woman's life where nutrition is of key importance for optimal pregnancy outcome. The aim of this study was to assess maternal nutrient intakes during early pregnancy and to examine potential levels of energy underreporting. Subjects/Methods: Three-day food diaries were collected from 260 healthy pregnant women sampled from the control arm of a large Irish pregnancy cohort at 14 weeks gestation (range 12-20 weeks). Results: Up to 45% of pregnant women may be underreporting daily energy intake (EI). Multiple logistic regression analysis found that having a body mass index (BMI) of X25 kg/m 2 compared with a BMI o25 kg/m 2 (odds ratio, 4.4; 95% confidence interval, 2.5-7.7) was the main predictor of energy underreporting. Educational attainment is also an important predictor of energy underreporting. Women who underreport their EI tend to be less compliant with the current dietary recommendations for pregnancy. Conclusions: These data highlight the need for more education and public health interventions among pregnant women to achieve current dietary guidelines. In the analysis of dietary intakes, removal of extreme under reporters (Goldberg's ratio o0.9) may allow for more accurate assessment of nutritional intakes amongst pregnant women.

Lindsay K.L., Gibney E.R. & McAuliffe F.M. (2012) Maternal nutrition among women from Sub‐Saharan Africa, with a focus on Nigeria, and potential implications for pregnancy outcomes among immigrant populations in developed countries. J Hum Nutr Diet. Abstract Pregnant women in countries of Sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA) are at risk of poor nutritional status and adverse outcomes as a result of poverty, food insecurity, sub‐optimal healthcare facilities, frequent infections and frequent pregnancies. Studies from Nigeria, for example, have revealed a high prevalence of both under‐ and over‐nutrition, as well as nutrient deficiencies, including iron, folate, vitamin D and vitamin A. Subsequently, obstetric complications, including hypertension, anaemia, neural tube defects, night‐blindness, low birth weight and maternal and perinatal mortality, are common. Migration patterns from SSA to the Western world are on the rise in recent years, with Nigerians now representing the most prevalent immigrant African population in many developed countries. However, the effect of immigration, if any, on the nutritional status and pregnancy outcomes of these women in their host countries has not yet been studied. Consequently, it is unknown to what extent the nutritional deficiencies and pregnancy complications occurring in Nigeria, and other countries of SSA, present in these women post‐emigration. This may result in missed opportunities for appropriate antenatal care of a potential high‐risk group in pregnancy. The present review discusses the literature regarding nutrition in pregnancy among SSA women, using Nigeria as an example, the common nutrition‐related complications that arise and the subsequent obstetric outcomes. The concept of dietary acculturation among immigrant groups is also discussed and deficiencies in the literature regarding studies on the diets of pregnant immigrant women are highlighted.

These results establish a need to control for metabolic changes that occur in plasma due to the menstrual cycle in the design of future metabolomic studies involving premenopausal women.