Association of newborn low birth weight and the diet quality of their mothers during pregnancy: A case control study in El Jadida province

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Healthy eating habits among mothers both before and throughout pregnancy are beneficial for their own well-being, the fetus and the child in adulthood. OBJECTIVE: Our aim was to study the link between the quality of the diet of parturients and the birth weight of newborns. METHODS: The diversity scores (DDS) and dietary variety scores (DVS) were used to assess the quality of the diet, and the mean adequacy ratio (MAR) and the nutrient adequacy ratio were calculated and compared in 200 parturients (Controls) who gave birth to normal-weight (NW) newborns and 200 parturients (Cases) who gave birth to low birth weight (LBW) newborns. RESULTS: Mean DDS was 7.01±1.36 in controls and 4.55±1.60 in cases. The mean DVS was 13.31±3.28 in controls vs 8.11±4.60 in the cases (P <  0.001). The MAR index of controls 0.84±0.004 was higher compared to cases 0.70±0.004. The lowest NAR values are found for calcium (0.60±0.02 vs 0.34±0.01), iron (0.66±0.01 vs 0.50±0.01), folates (0.68±0.011 vs 0.48±0.009) in controls and cases respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The diets of women with LBW newborns do not meet the basic nutritional needs for a successful pregnancy and childbirth.