Multiple empirical evidence maintains that pregnancy is the most challenging period in a woman’s life nutritionally. The need for an increased amount of nutrition is the growth and development of maternal tissues such as uterus, breasts, and energy requirements to synthesize these issues. Although women are encouraged to observe nutritional needs during pregnancy, certain maternal nutritional risk factors inhibit the intake of appropriate nutrition and in their right amounts. Studies classify these factors into age-related, lifestyle/culture, socioeconomic, and dietary and they include independent personality, physical activity, religion, poverty, eating disorder, and obesity.
A common nutritional risk factor among teens is an independent personality. It is a psychosocial factor where an adolescent exhibits the “I like what I like” attitude and rejects family dietary guidelines. According to Carrasco-Luna et al. (2018), in their teenage years, people require a significant amount of macro and micronutrients. It is even more demanding where an adolescent is pregnant since it is mandatory to supplement their diets with proteins, calories, vitamins, minerals and all other essential nutrients. The independent personality problem hinders the ability to achieve full-term pregnancy under the best conditions.
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The level of physical activity is a lifestyle-based nutritional risk factor for a considerable proportion of pregnant women. Usually, when estimating energy levels and dietary requirements, moderate physical activity is included in the equation. However, when a person is involved in physically demanding sports or activities, the equation changes to reflect the high amounts of nutrition they need to sustain their lifestyle ( Fransen et al., 2017) . An excellent example is the case of Serena Williams who took part in a competitive sport – world tennis tournament – while pregnant. The likes of Serena Williams demand excessive amounts of nutrients and a healthy diet to sustain maternal needs as well as the energy levels of their physical involvements.
Religion is a cultural issue that also serves as a leading nutritional risk factor in many communities. For some communities, the selection of food is often based on certain religious beliefs. Reddy and Anitha (2015) use the example of Mexican Indians to illustrate the extent to which religion can impact food selection and dietary practices citing that the community cannot grow other crops on their lands except corn due to strong religious ties with the crop. Some religious groups go as far as prohibiting certain foods, regardless of their nutritional values. What this means to pregnant women in such communities is that they are restricted to particular nutrients and predisposed to the risks of not consuming other crucial nutritional elements.
Poverty remains a fundamental problem affecting access to quality nutrition among many pregnant women. A study conducted by Scorgie and his collaborators (2015) on the relationship between poverty and pregnancy in South Africa states that when women are poor, their pregnancies are adversely affected in various ways. One, the risk of malnutrition in pregnant mother and two, the exposure of infants to the risks of nutritional and developmental deficiencies (Scorgie et al., 2015). Healthy fetal growth and development require a substantial increase in maternal macronutrient consumption, something that poverty limits.
A nutritional risk factor associated with dietary complications during pregnancy is eating disorders like anorexia. It is an eating disorder where a person has abnormally low body weight, develops a poor attitude towards weight, and an intense fear of gaining weight. People with this condition engage in extreme efforts such as restricting what and the amount of food they eat, excessive exercises, and the likes to lose weight (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2016,p195). Sometimes, the affected individuals misuse diuretics, diet aids, or even deliberately vomit after calorie intake. When such people get pregnant, they become susceptible to malnutrition which may also extend to a fetus, thus hindering their development and causing pregnancy or birth complications.
Many credible nutritionists consider obesity a diet-related chronic condition that affects a significant population of pregnancies today. Obesity is the product of ingesting hypocaloric diets and decreased levels of physical activity. The risks of obesity to pregnancy are immense and may include stillbirth, miscarriages, gestational diabetes, sleep apnea, high blood pressure, and complicated vaginal delivery. Gaillard et al. (2013) add that chronic obesity condition causes introversion, passivity, and emotional instability. Therefore, nutritionists recommend designing nutritional interventions aimed at preventing the complications mentioned above from occurring.
Pregnancy causes tremendous hormonal and physical changes in a person’s body. Nourishment during pregnancy determines the health status of both an expecting mother and that of their baby. Therefore, adopting healthy eating practices marked by a balanced diet, the right nutrients, water, and the likes is not considered a choice. Furthermore, the type of food a pregnant mother consumes is the primary source of nourishment for their baby. Drawing from the discussion, it is important for expecting mothers to identify potential nutritional factors and determine the means of overcoming them.
References
Carrasco-Luna, J., Gombert, M., Carrasco-García, Á., & Codoñer-Franch, P. (2018). Adolescent Feeding: Nutritional Risk Factors. Journal of Child Science , 8 (01), e99-e105.
Fransen, H. P., Boer, J., Beulens, J. W., De Wit, G. A., Bueno-de-Mesquita, H. B., Hoekstra, J., ... & Peeters, P. H. (2017). Associations between lifestyle factors and an unhealthy diet. European journal of public health , 27 (2), 274-278.
Gaillard, R., Durmuş, B., Hofman, A., Mackenbach, J. P., Steegers, E. A., & Jaddoe, V. W. (2013). Risk factors and outcomes of maternal obesity and excessive weight gain during pregnancy. Obesity , 21 (5), 1046-1055.
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2016). Review of WIC food packages: Proposed framework for revisions: Interim report . National Academies Press.
Reddy, S., & Anitha, M. (2015). Culture and its influence on nutrition and oral health. Biomedical & Pharmacology Journal , 8 (SpecialOct), 613.
Scorgie, F., Blaauw, D., Dooms, T., Coovadia, A., Black, V., & Chersich, M. (2015). “I get hungry all the time”: experiences of poverty and pregnancy in an urban healthcare setting in South Africa. Globalization and health , 11 (1), 37.
