First Trimester Predictors of Diet and Birth Outcomes in Low-Income Pregnant Women

The purpose1 of this study is to test a model describing the relations of various biopsychosocial, behavioral, and cognitive factors on the health outcomes of nutritional adequacy and infant birth weight in low-income pregnant women. Descriptive, cohort design assessed low-income women (N=55) in their 1st trimester of pregnancy. Eighty percent of the women did not meet the recommended number of food servings outlined in the Food Guide Pyramid. Prepregnant body mass index (BMI) and pregnancy-related dietary changes explained 19% of the variance in nutritional adequacy. Maternal age, prepregnant BMI, nutritional knowledge, and infant gestation at birth explained 52% of the variance in infant birth weight. Nutritional adequacy in the 1st trimester and infant birth weight were not significantly related. Most low-income women are not meeting the nutritional requirements of pregnancy. Careful monitoring of dietary quality may help target women in need of additional nutritional education. Providing nutritional education throughout pregnancy may lead to improved dietary patterns that may reduce low birth weight.