Household food insecurity during pregnancy as a predictor of anthropometric indices failures in infants aged less than 6 months: a retrospective longitudinal study

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the impact of household food insecurity during the third trimester of pregnancy on the growth indicators of infants aged less than six months. Design: Retrospective longitudinal study. Setting: 137 healthcare centres (15 cities) in Khorasan Razavi province, Iran. Data were extracted from the Sina Electronic Health Record System (SinaEHR®). Participants: This study was conducted on 2,481 mother and infant dyads during November 2016-March 2019. The household food insecurity access scale (HFIAS; nine-item version) was used to measure food insecurity in the third trimester of pregnancy. Women who delivered singleton infants were included in the study, and anthropometric indices of infants were measured throughout the first sixth months of life. Results: Approximately 67% of the participants were food-secure, while 33% had varying degrees of food insecurity. The children born to the mothers in the food-insecure households were respectively 2.01, 3.03, and 3.83 times more likely to be stunted at birth (95% CI: 1.17-3.46), four months (95% CI: 1.21-7.61), and six months of age (95% CI: 1.37-10.68) compared to their counterparts in the food-secure households. However, there were no significant differences in mean birthweight, birth height, and head circumference at birth between the two groups. Conclusions: Household food insecurity during pregnancy is a risk factor for stunting in infants aged less than six months. Therefore, national nutrition programs could considerably support women in food-insecure households during and before pregnancy.

Analysis of Feeding Behavior and Family Food Security as a Stunting Risk Factor in Semarang City

“…Children's growth is influenced by the amount of nutrients they ingest, so the food they consume must be able to satisfy all of their nutritional needs (Mahmudiono, Nindya, Andrias, Megatsari, & Rosenkranz, 2018). Consuming a variety of meals can help you complete your daily nutritional requirements (Agostoni, Baglioni, La Vecchia, Molari, & Berti, 2023;Donkor et al, 2022;Karbin et al, 2022;Modern, Mpolya, & Sauli, 2022) or supplement your diet (Basri et al, 2021). The mother's or caregiver's feeding behavior is another element that affects how well-nourished a child is (Hanani & Susilo, 2020;Widanti, Utami, & Nurlaily, 2020).…”

A Community Prenatal Intervention in Social Nutrition: Evaluating the Impact on Pregnancy and Birthweight Outcomes

“…Malnutrition during pregnancy—which includes undernutrition (e.g., caloric/protein or micronutrient deficiencies) and overnutrition (e.g., excess of calories with micronutrient excess or deficiencies)—is associated with a wide range of adverse outcomes for maternal and infants’ physical, mental and neurodevelopmental health [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ]. These outcomes are particularly important for young children, given that their first 1000 days of life, extending from conception to early childhood, constitute a critical period during which malnutrition and food insecurity can have serious negative consequences for their growth, development and health [ 6 , 7 , 8 ].…”

In this issue – Food insecurity

“…In Iran, household food insecurity was assessed in 2500 women during the third trimester of pregnancy and infant anthropometric measures collected during the first 6 months of life. Over 30 % or participants experienced some degree of food insecurity and children born into these households were more likely to be stunted at birth, 4 months and 6 months (11) .…”