Prenatal Nutrition is Lacking
Guidance on prenatal nutrition.
Based on data collected from 1,003 pregnant women between 2001 and 2014, a study in JAMA Network Open suggests that many expectant mothers in the U.S. don’t get enough of some nutrients that are vital for a healthy pregnancy. These include magnesium, calcium, choline, and vitamins C, D and E. Nearly all pregnant women in the study consumed too much sodium, and some were at risk of taking in too much folic acid and iron via supplementation.
This drives home the point that prenatal nutrition guidance needs to include education from a medical professional on how best to meet dietary recommendations during this sensitive period. Obstetricians and/or registered dietitians are important resources in this regard, as delivering specific nutrition suggestions is within these professionals’ scope of practice.
Matthew Kadey, MS, RD
Matthew Kadey, MS, RD, is a James Beard Award–winning food journalist, dietitian and author of the cookbook Rocket Fuel: Power-Packed Food for Sport + Adventure (VeloPress 2016). He has written for dozens of magazines, including Runner’s World, Men’s Health, Shape, Men’s Fitness and Muscle and Fitness.
