Effect of Maternal Third Trimester Energy and Protein Intake on Pregnancy Weight Gain and Newborn Birth Weight

During pregnancy maternal, body needs enough energy and nutrients to meet the requirement for growth of the fetus and increased body demands of the mother. Malnutrition during pregnancy causes intra-uterine growth retardation and low birth weight deliveries. The present study was conducted to investigate the effect of maternal energy and protein intake on the pregnancy outcome. One hundred and forty obstetrically normal mothers between 20 40 yrs, who delivered babies at the maternity wards of the Teaching Hospital Kandy were selected as subjects. Mothers having pre-pregnancy weight <45.5 kg, height <145 cm and gestational duration <37 weeks and other obstetric complications were excluded from the study. Birth weight data were collected from nurses’ records in the labor room in the obstetric wards. Maternal dietary data were collected from a food frequency questionnaire and two dietary recalls done in the third trimester. Pre-pregnancy maternal data were obtained from prenatal records. Results indicated that energy and protein intakes have positive correlations with pregnancy weight gain. Multiple regression and partial correlation analyses showed that the maternal energy intake contributed to 50% of the pregnancy weight gain and the association was very strong (p=0.0001) whereas the contribution from the protein intake to the pregnancy weight gain was only 10% and was not significant. When the energy and protein intakes were compared using the recommended cut-off levels, the correlation coefficients of maternal energy intake (>2200 kcal/day) and protein intake (>55 g/day) on the total pregnancy weight gain were 0.670 (p=0.000) and 0.60 (p=0.000), respectively. With the birth weight of the new born, maternal height did not have any significant correlation (r=0.028, p=0.745) but the total weight gain during pregnancy had a significant positive correlation (r=0.447, P=0.000). The correlation between the maternal pre-pregnancy weight and the birth weight of the new born was weak (r =0.165, p=0.051). It is evident that for a successful pregnancy outcome, it is important to have adequate energy and protein in the maternal diet and achieve a desirable weight gain during pregnancy. INTRODUCTION Nutrition of the mother has a profound influence on the course and outcome of her pregnancy. If the nourishment needed for developing fetal tissue and organs are inadequate, the fetus may not grow and develop normally. The fetus that fails to achieve their inherent 1 Department of Food Science and Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka.