PUBLIC HEALTH NUTRITION AND EPIDEMIOLOGY Maternal nutrition among women from Sub-Saharan Africa, with a focus on Nigeria, and potential implications for pregnancy outcomes among immigrant populations in developed countries

Pregnancy is a critical stage of development during which maternal nutrition can strongly influence obstetric and neonatal outcomes (Godfrey et al., 1996; Kramer, 2003). Optimal nutrition is necessary to maintain the health of the mother, to help ensure a normal, healthy delivery, and also to reduce the risk of birth defects, sub-optimal foetal development and chronic health problems in childhood (American Dietetic Association, 2008). Poor nutritional status and sub-optimal preand antenatal care are common in developing countries, often resulting in pregnancy complications and poor obstetric outcomes (Hampshire et al., 2004). Pregnant women in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are at particular nutritional risk as a result of poverty, food insecurity, political and economic instabilities, frequent infections, and frequent pregnancies (Lartey, 2008). The main nutritional issues impacting these women include maternal underand over-nutrition and deficiencies of key pregnancy micronutrients, such as iron, folate, calcium, vitamin D and vitamin A. Consequently, poor obstetric outcomes, such as anaemia, neural tube defects (NTDs), rickets, low birth weight (LBW) and maternal and neonatal mortality, are common in SSA.