Nutrition of Black Women During Pregnancy.
Melissa Myles, Susan Gennaro, Nancy Dubois and 2 others
PMID 28396154WHAT IT FOUND
Nutrient intake did not change across prenatal visits, and most Black women remained outside calorie guidelines and below recommendations for protein share, micronutrients, fruits, vegetables and fiber.
Key findings
01Nutrient intake did not differ significantly across time points, and variation between under, met, and over recommendation categories was not significant.
02At 22 to 24 weeks, 78.4% of women were outside calorie guidelines, and 67.0% had protein below the recommended proportion of their diet.
03At 22 to 24 weeks, 96.4% did not consume adequate vitamin D, 66.5% did not meet the folate minimum, 63.4% did not meet the iron minimum, and 54.6% did not meet the calcium recommendation, despite 81.67% prenatal vitamin use.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Only about 58% of eligible women agreed to participate, so participants may differ from women who declined. Women were recruited from one urban area in the Northeastern United States, so results may not apply to Black women in other places. Diet was self-reported, and women may underreport food consumption. Prepregnancy weight was not obtained, so the study could not examine overall weight-gain guidelines or the calories needed for appropriate gain. Thirty-seven women missed one scheduled visit, and complete data from all three time points were available for 158 women (81%). The study described intake patterns; it did not test nutrition counseling, prenatal vitamins, or food assistance as interventions.
Declared interests
The authors reported no conflicts of interest or relevant financial relationships. The diet data were collected as part of a larger NIH-funded parent study.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as evidence that prenatal nutrition counseling or prenatal vitamins improved intake. The study did not test an intervention, and many women still had low vitamin D, folate, iron, calcium, fruit, vegetable and fiber intake despite prenatal vitamin use.