Pregnancy: Impact of Maternal Nutrition on Intrauterine Fetal Growth

This chapter reviews manuscripts of major impact published between July 2020 and June 2021 addressing the issue of the association of maternal nutrition during pregnancy and intrauterine fetal growth. In this current edition, we selected seven human studies, most of which were randomized controlled trials (RCTs), as well as two animal clinical trials. At the center of attention were both lifestyle and nutritional interventions potentially affecting the development of fetal growth restriction and prevention of fetal overgrowth. This chapter will hopefully spark enthusiasm in health care providers and researchers to design future studies addressing this important topic.

Human Studies
Association between maternal caffeine consumption and metabolism and neonatal anthropometry: a secondary analysis of the NICHD Fetal Growth Studies – Singletons
Gleason JL, Tekola-Ayele F, Sundaram R, Hinkle SN, Vafai Y, Buck Louis GM, Gerlanc N, Amyx M, Bever AM, Smarr MM, Robinson M, Kannan K, Grantz KL
JAMA Netw Open 2021 Mar 1;4(3):e213238
Effectiveness of wheat soya blend supplementation during pregnancy and lactation on pregnancy outcomes and nutritional status of their infants at 6 months of age in Thatta and
Sujawal districts of Sindh, Pakistan: a cluster randomized‑controlled trial
Khan GN, Ariff S, Kureishy S, Sajid, Rizvi A, Garzon C, Jenkins M, de Pee S, Soofi SB, Bhutta ZA
Eur J Nutr 2021;60:781–789
Effects of a modestly lower carbohydrate diet in gestational diabetes: a randomized controlled trial
Mijatovic J, Louie JCY, Buso MEC, Atkinson FS, Ross GP, Markovic TP, Brand-Miller JC
Am J Clin Nutr 2020;112:284–292
Effects of guided counseling during pregnancy on birth weight of newborns in West Gojjam Zone, Ethiopia: a cluster-randomized controlled trial
Demilew YM, Alene GD, Belachew T
BMC Pediatr 2020;20:466
The effects of a combined intervention (docosahexaenoic acid supplementation and home-based dietary counseling) on metabolic control in obese and overweight pregnant women: the MIGHT study
Garmendia ML, Casanello P, Flores M, Kusanovic JP, Uauy R Am J Obstet Gynecol 2021;224:526.e1–526.e25
Multiple micronutrients and docosahexaenoic acid supplementation during pregnancy: a randomized controlled study
Massari M, Novielli C, Mandò C, Di Francesco S, Della Porta M, Cazzola R, Panteghini M, Savasi V,
Maggini S, Schaefer E, Cetin I
Nutrients 2020;12:2432
Preconceptional lipid-based nutrient supplementation in 2 low-resource countries results in distinctly different IGF-1/mTOR placental responses
Castillo-Castrejon M, Yang IV, Davidson EJ, Borengasser SJ, Jambal P, Westcott J, Kemp JF,
Garces A, Ali SA, Saleem S, Goldenberg RL, Figueroa L, Hambidge KM, Krebs NF, Powell TL
J Nutr 2021;151:556–569
Animal Studies
Effect of maternal nutrient restriction on skeletal muscle mass and associated molecular pathways in SGA and non-SGA sheep fetuses
Sandoval C, Lambo CA, Beason K, Dunlap K, Satterfield MC
Domest Anim Endocrinol 2020;72:106443
Effects of maternal nutrient restriction during the periconceptional period on placental
development in the mouse
Van Gronigen Case G, Storey KM, Parmeley LE, Schulz LC
PLoS One 2021;16:e0244971