A study by ibs.GRANADA determines the advantages of dairy consumption during pregnancy
Ibs.GRANADA scientists suggest that for every 100 grams per day of increased consumption of dairy products, the risk of low birth weight could be reduced by 11 percent.
A study led by the University of Granada (UGR) has linked the consumption of dairy products (milk, fresh cheese, yogurt or cottage cheese) during pregnancy with a lower risk of having a low-weight newborn. The research, published in the journal Maternal and Child Health Journal, suggests that for every 100 grams per day of increased consumption of dairy products, the risk of low birth weight could be reduced by 11 percent.
Birth weight is one of the main determinants of newborn health, both in the short and long term. Low-weight-for-gestational-age newborns are at increased risk of perinatal morbidity and mortality, as well as present and future metabolic problems.
Low birth weight is a global health problem and, for this reason, it is a priority to identify potentially modifiable risk factors that allow the development of future interventions for its control and prevention. In this sense, maternal nutrition is a key factor in fetal growth. Different foods and micronutrients, vitamins and minerals, play an important role in the development of the fetus and the newborn.
Among these foods, the consumption of dairy products during pregnancy is of special importance for the development of plastic elements of the fetus. The Spanish Society of Community Nutrition and the Spanish Society of Family and Community Medicine recommend that the maternal diet be fortified during this stage of life, going from 2 to 3 servings / day of dairy before pregnancy (2-3 glasses of milk) to 3 or 4 servings during pregnancy (2 glasses of milk, 1 yogurt and a portion of cheese for example).
Low birth weight for gestational age newborn
Based on the data collected for a Project of Excellence of the Junta de Andalucía on nutrition in pregnancy and maternal-fetal risks, the authors of this study proposed to analyze the risk of having a newborn of low weight for gestational age and the maternal dairy consumption.
This study was carried out in collaboration between researchers from the Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health of the University of Granada and the Service of Obstetrics and Gynecology of the Hospital Universitario Materno-Infantil de Granada, all members of the Biosanitary Research Institute of Granada (ibs.GRANADA ).
A total of 1175 pregnant women residing in the reference area of the Hospital participated in the research, without previous pathology, willing to modify their diet and / or level of physical activity, and who were followed throughout the pregnancy.
The work showed that approximately one in 8-9 pregnancies resulted in a low birth weight-for-gestational age newborn (11,8% risk). The researchers found that those women who had a low-weight-for-gestational-age baby had consumed less dairy during pregnancy than those who had a normal-weight newborn: 513,9 g / day of intake versus 590,3 g / day respectively.
"What's really interesting is that there seems to be a dose-response gradient, such that the higher the dairy intake, the lower the risk of having a low-weight newborn," explains the lead author of this work, Rocio Olmedo Requena, from the Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health of the University of Granada.
Based on the results observed in the cohort studied, the percentage of newborns that could be avoided by increasing dairy consumption could vary from 4,5% of all low-weight newborns to 39,7%, depending on the consumption level of women and its modification in a positive sense during pregnancy.
"For example, 1 in 5 low-birth-weight newborns could be prevented if consumption were increased to 600 g/day (3 glasses of milk per day; or 2 glasses of milk and a 125-gram portion of fresh cheese; or 1 glass of milk, 2 yogurts, and 200 grams of cottage cheese) in women with a low dairy intake. The prevention potential in these women could reach 39,7% if the 900 g/day limit were reached," the researcher points out.
