Relationship Between Mothers' and Newborns' Nutritional and Blood Lipid Variables

Objective: To study the relation between anthropometry, diet and blood lipids during pregnancy and anthropometry and cord blood lipids in newborns.

Design: Longitudinal study during pregnancy.

Setting: Population study.

Subjects: A group of 70 volunteer pregnant women attending the Maternity Advisory Service were recruited at the 1st trimester and studied during pregnancy. By the end of the study 17 women had dropped out of anthropometry and diet assessments and 21 had left blood lipid analysis. Anthropometric measurements and cord blood lipid determinations were carried out respectively on 43 and 28 newborns.

Interventions: Diet history; current methods for anthropometry and blood lipid determinations.

Results: The highest values for energy and other nutrient intakes were observed at the 2nd trimester. According to the recommendations usually made, protein and fat intakes were high, and carbohydrate intake too low. This was observed especially at the 3rd trimester. Significant relationships between protein, fat and carbohydrate intake (as a percentage of energy) during pregnancy and anthropometric variables in newborns and cord blood lipids (particularly for boys) were found in the group of mothers and their respective newborns. Few correlations between mothers' and newborns' levels of blood lipids were observed for girls.

Conclusions: The results do not show considerable diet changes during pregnancy. The impact of mothers' diet on fat deposition in newborns and cord blood lipids seems to be sex-linked and more important for boys.