German National Consensus Recommendations on Nutrition and Lifestyle in Pregnancy by the ‘Healthy Start - Young Family Network'

Abstract

Diet and physical activity before and during pregnancy affect short- and long-term health of mother and child. The energy needs at the end of pregnancy increase only by about 10% compared to nonpregnant women. An excessive energy intake is undesirable since maternal overweight and excessive weight gain can increase the risks for a high birth weight and later child overweight and diabetes. Maternal weight at the beginning of pregnancy is especially important for pregnancy outcome and child health. Women should strive to achieve normal weight already before pregnancy. Regular physical activity can contribute to a healthy weight and to the health of pregnant women. The need for certain nutrients increases more than energy requirements. Before and during pregnancy, foods with a high content of essential nutrients should be preferentially selected. Supplements should include folic acid and iodine, iron (in case of suboptimal iron stores), the ω-3 fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid (in case of infrequent consumption of ocean fish) and vitamin D (in case of decreased sun exposure and decreased endogenous vitamin D synthesis). Pregnant women should not smoke and not stay in rooms where others smoke or have smoked before (passive smoking). Alcohol consumption should be avoided, since alcohol can harm unborn children.

Pregnancy and childbirth: What changes in the lifestyle of women who become mothers?

“…This adoption of healthier life styles is also present in the speech of 7 (8.54%) women who reported that during pregnancy had more care about themselves. These results are corroborated by other studies, in that tobacco use is still considered the main cause of preventable morbidity and mortality in developed countries, as well as a major public health problem globally, with effects on the reproductive function and development of a healthy pregnancy (8) . Authors also refer that the consumption of alcohol during the first trimester of pregnancy has been associated with increased risk of foetal malformations (10) .…”

“…Therefore, authors recommend low intensity exercise and of an average duration forty minutes not to cause complications for the mother and the foetus (4) . Women who get fatter during the first half of pregnancy are more likely to give birth to an obese baby (8) . More recent studies have confirmed that the practice of about twenty minutes of moderate and regular exercise during pregnancy improves brain development in new-borns (9) .…”

Consequences and Possible Predictors of Health-damaging Behaviors and Mental Health Problems in Pregnancy – A Review

“…Dietary habits and sufficient weight gain during pregnancy play an important role in the physical and mental health of expectant women as well as for the development and the later health of the child [90][91]. The rapid growth and neural development of the unborn child places special demands on the nutrition ingested by pregnant women [4,92].…”

“…While the energy needs of pregnant women do not change much over the course of pregnancy, the pregnant woman has an increased need of micronutrients (e.g. vitamins and minerals) [91]. When pregnant women are malnourished or have nutritional deficiencies this can be due to an undersupply or oversupply of calories along with a corresponding weight gain or it may be due to the inadequate quality of the food consumed and a low supply of micronutrients [4].…”

Attitudes to hygienic-dietary regime and habits of pregnant women in Zajecar

“…Ishrana i fizička aktivnost pre i tokom trudnoće imaju kratkoročne i dugoročne efekte na zdravlje majke i ploda [2]. Faktori koje vode zdravoj trudnoći uključuju optimalnu telesnu masu pre trudnoće, odgovarajuće povećanje telesne mase i fizičku aktivnost u trudnoći, upotrebu raznovrsnih namirnica i odgovarajućih vitamina i minerala, kako iz hrane, tako i u vidu suplemenata, izbegavanje alkohola i drugih štetnih namirnica i pravilno rukovanje namirnicama [3].…”