Eating for two is a concept that instantly comes to mind with pregnancy. It's exciting to think you might get a little wiggle room in your eating habits to support the process of building another human being. However, it's been said that you really only need about 300 or so extra calories to make up for the extra caloric expenditure of baby making. (National Institute of Health) Finding where to get those extra calories should garner a lot more thought than most will give. Those 300 calories should not be a free pass to have an extra donut or bowl of ice cream. The way you choose to fuel your body and your growing baby can have direct effects on the future.
Balanced meals still apply!
Maternal Behaviors during Pregnancy Impact Offspring Obesity Risk covers a study completed in Providence, Rhode Island that included participants of the Fit for Delivery clinical trial. The trial aimed to understand the effects of lifestyle choices, such as dietary intake, physical activity, stress and sleep, on the gestational weight gain, birth weight and 6 month infant weight of the women and children involved in the study. The study was the first of its kind that looked at not only gestational weight gain in “normal weight” women (BMI of 19.8-26) but also that of “overweight/obese” women (BMI of 26.1-40.) Those women that had any major psychiatric illness, gestational diabetes, previous or current eating disorders or any other medical issues were excluded from the study. At the beginning of the study the women were between 10-16 weeks of gestation, they were reevaluated at 30 weeks and at 6 months postpartum. (Phelan, 2011)
Dietary intake and physical activity were self-reported measures that covered daily caloric intake, calories from sweets and sugar sweetened beverages and macronutrient intake by percentage. Energy expenditure was self-reported in reference to “stairs climbed, blocks walked, and other recreational activities”. (Phelan, 2011) Depressive symptoms, perceived levels of stress and amounts of sleep were also indicated on other assessments. (Phelan, 2011)
The study’s finding were relatively consistent with information that the general public has been previously given, large intakes of sweets and sodas have a direct effect on weight gain, and in the case of this study each sugar source was related to the birth weight of children. In the overweight/obese pregnant women, a high intake of sweets early in the pregnancy correlated with a significantly higher birth weight compared to normal weight mothers. With that, more children were also born classified as macrosomic, or greater than 4000 g, and greater than the 90th percentile at birth. At six months, there was not a marked increase in weight of the child, in fact, the percentage of children from overweight/obese mothers that were previously in the 90th percentile for weight actually decreased. The number of children in the 90th percentile for weight that were born to normal weight women increased by 7-15% by the age of six months. (Phelan, 2011)
The study indicated that the number one factor for a high birth weight child from an overweight or obese mother was a greater habitual consumption of sweets at the beginning of the pregnancy, this also led to increased instances of macrosomia. In fact, the study found that for “each 1% increase in percentage of calories consumed from sweets early in pregnancy increased the odds of macrosomia by 10% and weight for age being greater than the 90th percentile for 20%.” (Phelan, 2011) In the case of normal weight mothers, only a low maternal fat intake and a higher carbohydrate intake led to higher weight for age (WFA) at six months. The main indicator for normal weight women giving birth to high WFA scores at birth were greater habitual consumption of soft drinks. The rate of macrosomia in children of normal weight mothers was low enough to not have a statistically significant predictor. However, at six months of age, the study showed that normal weight women that consumed a diet higher in fat had lower WFA numbers. Children of normal weight mothers did show higher odds of having an increased WFA if they were exposed to excessive gestational weight gain. (Phelan, 2011)
Physical activity and time spent watching television turned out to not have nearly the effect on gestational weight gain or infant birth weight as some may have thought. Dietary intake during pregnancy and the mother’s weight prior to pregnancy had a greater effect on the child’s weight at birth and at six months.
In conclusion, the study noted that the connection of gestational weight gain and a high birth weight seems to decrease as the child gets older. While more research into the topic can only be beneficial and lead to better understandings of how to best prepare and carry out a healthy weight pregnancy, the facts currently show that a diet high in sugary treats, drinks and sodas have a direct link to the birth weight of the child. Maintaining a balanced diet with a healthy distribution of macronutrients and a low consumption of added sugars can contribute to an optimum gestational weight gain and steer the child towards starting their life at a healthy weight for their age. (Phelan, 2011)
Eating Right During Pregnancy. (2012, August 16). . Retrieved June 25, 2014, from http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/patientinstructions/000584.htm
Phelan, S., Hart, C., Phipps, M., Abrams, B., Schaffner, A., Adams, A., et al. (2011, October 26). Maternal Behaviors during Pregnancy Impact Offspring Obesity Risk. . Retrieved June 25, 2014, fromhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3205727/
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