The Influence of Diet on Pregnancy and Lactation in the Mother, the Growth and Viability of the Foetus, and Post-Natal Development. Part 1. Pregnancy

Abstract

Andrews): Pregnancy is a natural process and should continue so to be regarded both by the medical profession and by the lay public. Nevertheless it is probably true that pregnancy is a strain on the maternal organism, metabolically as well as physically. The factor of safety with which the human body is endowed in all its activities may be exceeded. Thus, it is possible that deficiencies, latent under conditions of normal life, may become patent during pregnancy. Moreover, we should not close our eyes to the fact that our social system is such that this period of inevitable, natural, physiological strain is too often accompanied by financial stringency. The increased demands of pregnancy and of motherhood are not met by increased provision of help in the home.Although much attention has been paid to the grosser catastrophes and mechanical difficulties of pregnancy and of labour we are still woefully ignorant of the more subtle metabolic changes associated with the nutrition of the unborn child. We have barely begun to understand the role of the placenta in conveying food materials and oxygen to, and removing waste from, the foetus. In addition, the placenta seems to act as a temporary maternal ductless gland. Thus, true appreciation of the importance of proximate principles and of accessory food factors must wait on greater knowledge of placental and foetal metabolism.All we can hope to do a t present is to record observations, to rely on frank empiricism. From studies of experimental and of farm animals, and from the experiences of mankind, we are accumulating data concerning nutrition with reference to successful pregnancy. But, until such knowledge becomes truly scientific, we shall fail to resolve our uncertainties, dispose of controversy, check the excesses of the less critical enthusiasts and gain the wholehearted support of the more sceptical among us. We are at present unable to aseess accurately the causes of wastage of young life, both in lower animals and in man; during pregnancy and in the neo-natal period. Statistics show that such wastage is serious. It is our task to try to find the part played by proper nutrition in ensuring normal pregnancy and viable healthy offspring. 226Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi

Development and the art of nutritional maintenance

“…The latter pairing laid down the scientific foundations of DOHaD, outlining a mechanistic paradigm for how nutrition was able to impact current and future phenotype. The very first issue of The Proceedings of the Nutrition Society included two papers reporting a role for nutrition during pregnancy or lactation on later developmental outcomes (44,45) . Nevertheless, David Barker and Clive Osmond from the MRC Environmental Epidemiology Unit, Southampton General Hospital were the first to associate variation in developmental environment, particularly of nutrients leading to low birth weight babies, and health outcomes 50-60 years later (36,46) .…”