Nutrition and Food Chemistry

Nutrition in Pregnancy and Lactation

From time immemorial it has been recognized that women especially pregnant and lactating women form one of the most vulnerable segments of the population from nutritional point of view. Maternal under nutrition is associated with low birth weight and all its attendant adverse consequences. Epidemiological studies has documented the magnitude and adverse consequences of chronic energy deficiency(CED) on the mother child dyad and paved way for effective intervention programmes to address under nutrition during pregnancy and lactation. Too early, too close, too many and too late pregnancy adversely affect nutrition and health status of the mother child dyad; timely contraceptive care has become an indirect effective intervention to prevent deterioration in maternal and child nutrition. Yet another important indirect cause of under nutrition continues to be infections; under nutrition increases the susceptibility for infections; infections aggravate under nutrition. With the advent of HIV epidemic, it is inevitable that over the next decade there will be an increase in under nutrition in women due to HIV infection. While under nutrition continues to be major problem as in the earlier decades, the current decade has witnessed the progressive rise of over nutrition in women during reproductive age especially among the affluent segments of population both in urban and in rural areas. It has become imperative to assess the pregnant women diet and nutrition and give them appropriate advice and care.