Healthy prenatal diet may reduce abnormal patterns of infant growth: JAMA

A total of 2854 birthing parent-child dyads were involved in the research. 225 Asian or Pacific Islander newborns (7.9%), 640 Black infants (22.4%), 1022 Hispanic infants (35.8%), 664 White infants (23.3%), and 224 infants (7.8%) of other races or several races were among the racially and ethnically varied members of the cohort.

The reduced risks of LGA, rapid growth through birth to age 6 months and age 24 months, and delayed growth from birth to age 6 months, 12 months, and 24 months were linked to a high HEI score (>80), which is a sign of a better diet. There was no correlation between SGA and high HEI.

The above chances of LGA and rapid infant growth from birth to age 12 months and lower odds of rapid growth to age 6 months were linked to a low EDIP score, which is suggestive of a less inflammatory diet. However, there was no correlation with SGA when compared to an EDIP score of 63.6 or above.

Overall, this research discovered that eating a healthier diet during pregnancy in accordance with current USDA guidelines was linked to having an infant with a lower risk of LGA and a higher chance of having a healthier growth trajectory during the first 2 years of life.

Source:

Hedderson, M. M., Schuh, H. B., Knapp, E. A., Bekelman, T. A., Catellier, D. J., Westlake, M., Lyall, K., Schmidt, R. J., Dunlop, A. L., Comstock, S. S., Chatzi, L., Sauder, K. A., Dabelea, D., Switkowski, K. M., Lin, P.-I. D., Avalos, L. A., Zhu, Y., Ferrara, A., … Smith, L. M. (2024). Prenatal Diet and Infant Growth From Birth to Age 24 Months. In JAMA Network Open (Vol. 7, Issue 11, p. e2445771). American Medical Association (AMA). https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.45771