PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to examine differences in nutrition knowledge, eating habits during pregnancy, and neonatal health status between primipara for pregnant women of advanced maternal age in comparison to those under the age of 35. METHODS: This study used a comparative survey design. Data were collected through self-report questionnaires and patients medical records. A total of 127 participants, mothers after delivery were recruited from metropolitan city B. RESULTS: Primipara in advanced maternal age (n=32) reported significantly higher scores of eating habits (Z=-2.96, p=.003) than younger ages (n=95). There were no significant differences in scores of pregnancy nutrition knowledge (Z=-0.44, p=.660), duration of gestation (Z=-0.28, p=.778), neonatal birth height (Z=-0.10, p=.924), neonatal birth weight (Z=-0.28, p=.777), Apgar score 1 minute (Z=-0.53, p=.599) and 5 minutes (Z=-0.23, p=.816) between two groups. CONCLUSION: It concludes that age is not the obstacle to the best nutritional status of women and their newborns.
Apgar Score ; Birth Weight ; Eating* ; Female ; Food Habits ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Maternal Age* ; Medical Records ; Mothers ; Nutritional Status ; Parturition ; Pregnancy ; Pregnant Women* ; Prenatal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena

The study objectives were to investigate the relationship between early exposure to genistein and obesity in young adulthood and to evaluate changes in reproductive health during puberty and adulthood following in utero exposure to genistein. Thirty-two female rats were randomized into four groups; low dose 400 mg genistein/kg diet group (LG), mid-dose 1200 mg genistein/kg diet group (MG), high dose 3600 mg genistein/kg diet group (HG), and control group without genistein diet (CON). Rats were fed genistein at the beginning of pregnancy along with a high-fat diet. Pups were sacrificed at week 4 and week 8 after birth. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) results showed a correlation between maternal genistein intake and genistein concentration in pups' plasma. Compared to CON, body weight reduced significantly in male HG group at week 8. No statistical differences were found in plasma estradiol (E2), testosterone (T), interleukin (IL)-6, and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels with early genistein exposure. Furthermore, uterine histopathology showed notable changes in groups HG and MG compared with CON at week 4 and week 8. In conclusion, maternal genistein supplement could reduce body weight in male pups and alter uterine histopathology in female pups.
Animal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena ; Animals ; Body Weight ; drug effects ; Dietary Fats ; administration & dosage ; Female ; Genistein ; administration & dosage ; blood ; pharmacology ; Male ; Maternal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena ; Pregnancy ; Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Uterus ; growth & development

OBJECTIVETo study the status of spontaneous abortion among reproductive Tibetan women aged 15 - 49 years.

METHODSA cross-sectional survey was conducted on reproductive history of Tibetan women and the sample was chosen under the stratified multistage cluster random sampling technique.

RESULTSA total number of 3741 women were studied with a total number of 10,245 pregnancies. There were 386 spontaneous abortions reported with an incidence rate of 3.9%. Women living in the urban area had a higher rate than living in the rural areas. Women living in area where altitudes were above 4500 m, had a 2-time risk of having spontaneous abortion than those living in areas below 3500 m. The risk of having spontaneous abortion increased among women aged > or = 35 and those with more than 3 pregnancies.

CONCLUSIONSHigh altitude could contribute to the increase of spontaneous abortions incidence, suggesting that improvement of maternal care and nutrition and reduction of the frequency of pregnancy had important roles to play in reducing the incidence of spontaneous abortion among Tibetan women. Despite the fact that retrospective study on reproductive history could underestimate the incidence of spontaneous abortion, the incidence rate among Tibetan women might not be much higher than women living in the lowland areas.

Abortion, Spontaneous ; epidemiology ; Adolescent ; Adult ; Altitude ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence ; Maternal Age ; Maternal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena ; Middle Aged ; Parity ; Pregnancy ; Prenatal Care ; Risk Factors ; Rural Population ; statistics & numerical data ; Tibet ; epidemiology ; Urban Population ; statistics & numerical data ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVE: To explore the relation between environmental factors and the occurrence of congenital heart disease (CHD). METHODS: A hospital-based case-control study was conducted. Mothers of 123 patients with congenital heart disease and 246 normal newborns were interviewed with standardized questionnaires. Chi-square test and logistic regression models were performed to analyze the influencing factors. RESULTS: As shown in multivariable logistic model, gravida with occupational exposure (OR=4.10), or gravida with chronic diseases during progestational pregnancy (OR=5.95), gravida with abnormal childbearing history (OR=6.27), and gravida catching a cold in the early stage of pregnancy (OR=2.07) would increase the risk of CHD. On the contrary, eating meat, egg (OR=0.18) and milk (OR=0.23), and taking multivitamin and microelement (OR=0.35) during the pregnancy reduced the risk of CHD. CONCLUSION The risk of the offspring developing CHD is associated with gravida's exposure to many environmental factors during pregnancy. It is time to strengthen the intervention measures to reduce the occurrence of CHD.
Adult ; Case-Control Studies ; Environment ; Female ; Heart Defects, Congenital ; etiology ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Logistic Models ; Maternal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena ; Occupational Exposure ; adverse effects ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Complications ; Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects ; Risk Factors ; Surveys and Questionnaires

Congenital Abnormalities ; etiology ; Deficiency Diseases ; complications ; Female ; Humans ; Maternal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena ; Pregnancy

Early life nutritional environment is not only associated with the growth and development of children, but also affects the health of adults. Numerous epidemiological and animal studies suggest that early nutritional programming is an important physiological and pathological mechanism. DNA methylation is one of the important mechanisms of nutritional programming, which is catalyzed by DNA methyltransferase, a specific base of DNA covalently binds to a methyl group, to regulate gene expression. In this review, we summarize the role of DNA methylation in the "abnormal developmental planning" of key metabolic organs caused by excessive nutrition in early life, resulting in long-term obesity and metabolic disorders in the offspring, and explore the clinical significance of regulating DNA methylation levels through dietary interventions to prevent or reverse the occurrence of metabolic disorders in the early stage in a "deprogramming" manner.
Humans ; Animals ; Female ; DNA Methylation ; Epigenesis, Genetic ; Clinical Relevance ; Maternal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena ; Metabolic Diseases

INTRODUCTIONBreast milk fatty acids play a major role in infant development. However, no data have compared the breast milk composition of different ethnic groups living in the same environment. We aimed to (i) investigate breast milk fatty acid composition of three ethnic groups in Singapore and (ii) determine dietary fatty acid patterns in these groups and any association with breast milk fatty acid composition.

MATERIALS AND METHODSThis was a prospective study conducted at a tertiary hospital in Singapore. Healthy pregnant women with the intention to breastfeed were recruited. Diet profile was studied using a standard validated 3-day food diary. Breast milk was collected from mothers at 1 to 2 weeks and 6 to 8 weeks postnatally. Agilent gas chromatograph (6870N) equipped with a mass spectrometer (5975) and an automatic liquid sampler (ALS) system with a split mode was used for analysis.

RESULTSSeventy-two breast milk samples were obtained from 52 subjects. Analysis showed that breast milk ETA (Eicosatetraenoic acid) and ETA:EA (Eicosatrienoic acid) ratio were significantly different among the races (P = 0.031 and P = 0.020), with ETA being the highest among Indians and the lowest among Malays. Docosahexaenoic acid was significantly higher among Chinese compared to Indians and Malays. No difference was demonstrated in n3 and n6 levels in the food diet analysis among the 3 ethnic groups.

CONCLUSIONSDifferences exist in breast milk fatty acid composition in different ethnic groups in the same region, although no difference was demonstrated in the diet analysis. Factors other than maternal diet may play a role in breast milk fatty acid composition.

Arachidonic Acids ; metabolism ; Breast Feeding ; ethnology ; Diet ; Diet Records ; Docosahexaenoic Acids ; metabolism ; Eicosapentaenoic Acid ; metabolism ; Ethnic Groups ; Fatty Acids ; metabolism ; Female ; Humans ; India ; ethnology ; Malaysia ; ethnology ; Maternal Welfare ; Milk, Human ; chemistry ; Nutritional Status ; Pregnancy ; Prenatal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena ; Prospective Studies ; Singapore ; Statistics, Nonparametric

Adult ; China ; Female ; Humans ; Iodine ; administration & dosage ; urine ; Maternal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena ; Nutritional Status ; Pregnancy ; Sodium Chloride, Dietary ; Urinalysis ; methods

Because linseed oil may influence maternal and fetal metabolisms, we investigated its role in the modulation of lipid metabolism in cafeteria diet-induced obese rats and their offspring. Female Wistar rats were fed control or cafeteria food, which were either supplemented or not supplemented with linseed oil (5%) for 1 month before and during gestation. At parturition, serum and tissue lipids and enzyme activities were analyzed. Cafeteria diet induced adverse metabolic alterations in both mothers and offspring. Linseed oil improved metabolic status. In conclusion, linseed oil displayed health benefits by modulating tissue enzyme activities in both obese mothers and their newborns.
Animal Feed ; analysis ; Animals ; Diet ; adverse effects ; Dietary Supplements ; analysis ; Female ; Linseed Oil ; administration & dosage ; metabolism ; Lipid Metabolism ; drug effects ; Maternal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena ; drug effects ; Obesity ; drug therapy ; etiology ; metabolism ; Pregnancy ; Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects ; drug therapy ; etiology ; metabolism ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar

OBJECTIVETo study the effect of maternal nutrition status on child growth in China.

METHODSThe study was performed using data from 2002 China Nutrition Health Survey in which data were collected through stratified multi-stage cluster samples in 31 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities. Accroding to the height of women aged 18-44 y was 156.4 cm, the data on mother and children' weight and height/length (n = 1380) were analyzed.

RESULTSThe findings suggest child's length (age 2) were significantly correlated with maternal heights (P < 0.0001). The mean length in children born to mothers with a height below 156.4 cm was 2.4 cm less than those in children born to mothers with a height above 156.4 cm. The prevalence of stunting in children at age 2 born to mothers with a height below 156 cm was 2.07 times of that in children born to mothers with a height above 156 cm. Therefore, the risk for stunting in children at 2 is lower in children born to mothers with greater height.

CONCLUSIONThe maternal nutrition status could have a significant influence on children physical development.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Body Height ; Child ; Child Development ; Child, Preschool ; China ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Female ; Humans ; Maternal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena ; Pregnancy ; Young Adult