Women's compliance with nutrition and lifestyle recommendations before pregnancy: general population cohort study
Women's compliance with nutrition and lifestyle recommendations before pregnancy: general population cohort study
Objective: to examine the extent to which women planning a pregnancy comply with recommendations for nutrition and lifestyle.
Design: prospective cohort study.
Setting: Southampton, United Kingdom.
Participants: 12 445 non-pregnant women aged 20-34 recruited to the Southampton Women’s Survey through general practices, 238 of whom became pregnant within three months of being interviewed.
Main outcome measures: folic acid supplement intake, alcohol consumption, smoking, diet, and physical activity before pregnancy.
Results: the 238 women who became pregnant within three months of the interview were only marginally more likely to comply with recommendations for those planning a pregnancy than those who did not become pregnant in this period. Among those who became pregnant, 2.9% (95% confidence interval 1.2% to 6.0%) were taking 400 µg or more of folic acid supplements a day and drinking four or fewer units of alcohol a week, compared with 0.66% (0.52% to 0.82%) of those who did not become pregnant. 74% of those who became pregnant were non-smokers compared with 69% of those who did not become pregnant (P=0.08). Women in both groups were equally likely to consume five or more portions of fruit and vegetables a day (53% in each group, P=1.0), but only 57% of those who became pregnant had taken any strenuous exercise in the past three months compared with 64% in those who did not become pregnant (P=0.03).
Conclusion: only a small proportion of women planning a pregnancy follow the recommendations for nutrition and lifestyle. Greater publicity for the recommendations is needed, but as many pregnancies are unplanned, improved nutrition and lifestyles of women of childbearing age is also required.
b481
Inskip, Hazel M.
5fb4470a-9379-49b2-a533-9da8e61058b7
Crozier, Sarah R.
f725a749-98a7-47ba-aa6b-8d8e17c72cad
Godfrey, Keith M.
0931701e-fe2c-44b5-8f0d-ec5c7477a6fd
Borland, Sharon E.
ee174ad2-1391-4d0f-9bca-13242c568e04
Cooper, Cyrus
e05f5612-b493-4273-9b71-9e0ce32bdad6
Robinson, Sian M.
ba591c98-4380-456a-be8a-c452f992b69b
12 February 2009
Inskip, Hazel M.
5fb4470a-9379-49b2-a533-9da8e61058b7
Crozier, Sarah R.
f725a749-98a7-47ba-aa6b-8d8e17c72cad
Godfrey, Keith M.
0931701e-fe2c-44b5-8f0d-ec5c7477a6fd
Borland, Sharon E.
ee174ad2-1391-4d0f-9bca-13242c568e04
Cooper, Cyrus
e05f5612-b493-4273-9b71-9e0ce32bdad6
Robinson, Sian M.
ba591c98-4380-456a-be8a-c452f992b69b
Inskip, Hazel M., Crozier, Sarah R., Godfrey, Keith M., Borland, Sharon E., Cooper, Cyrus and Robinson, Sian M.
(2009)
Women's compliance with nutrition and lifestyle recommendations before pregnancy: general population cohort study.
BMJ, 338, .
(doi:10.1136/bmj.b481).
(PMID:19213768)
Abstract
Objective: to examine the extent to which women planning a pregnancy comply with recommendations for nutrition and lifestyle.
Design: prospective cohort study.
Setting: Southampton, United Kingdom.
Participants: 12 445 non-pregnant women aged 20-34 recruited to the Southampton Women’s Survey through general practices, 238 of whom became pregnant within three months of being interviewed.
Main outcome measures: folic acid supplement intake, alcohol consumption, smoking, diet, and physical activity before pregnancy.
Results: the 238 women who became pregnant within three months of the interview were only marginally more likely to comply with recommendations for those planning a pregnancy than those who did not become pregnant in this period. Among those who became pregnant, 2.9% (95% confidence interval 1.2% to 6.0%) were taking 400 µg or more of folic acid supplements a day and drinking four or fewer units of alcohol a week, compared with 0.66% (0.52% to 0.82%) of those who did not become pregnant. 74% of those who became pregnant were non-smokers compared with 69% of those who did not become pregnant (P=0.08). Women in both groups were equally likely to consume five or more portions of fruit and vegetables a day (53% in each group, P=1.0), but only 57% of those who became pregnant had taken any strenuous exercise in the past three months compared with 64% in those who did not become pregnant (P=0.03).
Conclusion: only a small proportion of women planning a pregnancy follow the recommendations for nutrition and lifestyle. Greater publicity for the recommendations is needed, but as many pregnancies are unplanned, improved nutrition and lifestyles of women of childbearing age is also required.
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Published date: 12 February 2009
Organisations:
Dev Origins of Health & Disease
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Local EPrints ID: 72515
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/72515
ISSN: 0959-8138
PURE UUID: 44db1a36-2ab4-42ad-a4e9-fa2f090e0042
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Date deposited: 17 Feb 2010
Last modified: 18 Mar 2024 02:44
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Author:
Sarah R. Crozier
Author:
Sharon E. Borland
Author:
Sian M. Robinson
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