Journal of the American College of Nutrition, Vol 12, Issue 2 91-100, Copyright © 1993 by American College of Nutrition
Recent issues related to nutrition during pregnancy
S. A. Lederman
Center for Population and Family Health, Columbia University, School of Public Health, New York, NY 10032.
In July 1990, new guidelines for nutrition during pregnancy were published
by the National Academy of Sciences. The Subcommittee on Weight Gain During
Pregnancy revised the weight gain recommended for pregnancy. During the
process of developing new recommendations, the subcommittee considered
several factors that might help to determine the appropriate weight gain
for an individual pregnant woman. Some of these factors include demographic
and biological changes that might influence the effect of weight gain.
Clinical issues that must be considered in implementing the weight gain
recommendations include the importance of accurate weight and height
measurement, categorizing the woman's weight for height, determining rate
of gain at different times during pregnancy, and evaluating the
significance of deviations from the expected weight gain pattern. A review
of prior studies reveals that body composition changes, which might be
important to consider in conjunction with weight changes, have not been
well studied. Data are presented from a current study that indicates the
problems encountered if traditional methods of body composition measurement
are used during pregnancy.
