A good diet for pregnant women is decisive in the nutritional status of the newborn. The ingestion of food in the pregnant woman is the route of entry of the nutrients to the fetus, therefore, the adequate nutritional status of the woman at the beginning and during the pregnancy is the most important requirement for the existence of a newborn, and later a child and a healthy adult.
Deficient amounts of macronutrients and vitamins in the pregnant woman’s diet can affect the baby’s weight deficit at birth and poor physical preparation of the woman for the stress of childbirth.
Malnutrition of the pregnant woman and the fetus
- Malnutrition of the fetus in the various stages of pregnancy can bring as consequences, not only sequelae in child development, but also a predisposition to chronic diseases during adult life. The fetal origin hypothesis of chronic diseases proposes that alterations in fetal nutrition and endocrine status lead to adaptations that permanently change structures, physiology, and metabolism, and predispose individuals to cardiovascular, metabolic, and endocrine diseases in adult life.
- Poor pregnancy nutrition can cause poor fetal growth and loss of skeletal muscle in thin newborns. Without a good diet, the newborn has alterations in body proportions, such as a larger head circumference and a small abdominal circumference in relation to height. Malnutrition in late stages of pregnancy can affect the growth of the baby’s liver and lead to the reprogramming of hepatic metabolism, therefore resulting in the regulation of cholesterol and blood coagulation, alterations that are characteristic of cardiovascular diseases.
- A woman’s diet during pregnancy is directly related to the development of these risk factors for chronic diseases in her child in adulthood. That’s why it’s important that you follow your doctor’s recommendations for the best diet for you during pregnancy.
