Peer-reviewed article
Maternal Diet During Pregnancy and Offspring Health: Current Evidence on Dietary Patterns, Microbiota, and Developmental Programming.
Anton-Păduraru DT, Mîndru DE, Haliţchi COI, Bocec AS, Dorneanu OS et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This narrative review examines how maternal diet during pregnancy affects the health of pregnant women and their children's short- and long-term outcomes. The evidence shows that overall dietary patterns matter more than individual nutrients for pregnancy outcomes and child health. Maternal nutrition is understood as a form of developmental programming with lasting effects across the child's life, and potentially across generations. The review recommends personalized nutritional guidance starting before conception.
Key points
- Overall maternal dietary pattern is more important than isolated nutrient intake for pregnancy outcomes and child health
- Maternal nutrition acts as a factor in fetal programming with long-term impacts on the child
- Maternal diet may have epigenetic and metabolic effects with potential transgenerational consequences
- Optimizing diet in the periconceptional period and during pregnancy is an accessible and effective preventive intervention
- Personalized nutritional recommendations and structured education should begin in the preconception period
Limitations
This is a narrative review that synthesizes existing literature rather than presenting new empirical evidence, so it cannot determine causation or provide definitive intervention outcomes. The document does not specify which countries' evidence is reviewed or identify specific populations studied.
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Maternal nutrition is an important exogenous factor which, together with other factors, may play a fundamental role in ensuring the well-being of the pregnant woman and in the development of the offspring, with long-term effects on health. Therefore, this narrative review aims to synthesize current evidence on how maternal dietary patterns and nutrient intake during pregnancy affect maternal well-being, pregnancy outcomes, fetal growth, and the short- and long-term health of the child, while addressing research gaps, and implications for antenatal nutrition guidance. Literature Search Strategy and Study Selection: A comprehensive literature search was performed using the electronic databases PubMed and Google Scholar. The selection and curation of articles were guided by the central research question: "How does maternal diet during pregnancy influence maternal health and offspring outcomes?" Results: The analysis of the literature reveals that the overall maternal dietary pattern is more important than the isolated intake of nutrients in determining the course of pregnancy and the long-term health of the offspring. Conclusions: The present review pointed out that maternal nutrition is not merely energy support for pregnancy, but a factor in fetal programming with a long-term impact on the child, in line with the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) concept, and may act as an epigenetic and metabolic influence with potential transgenerational effects. Optimizing the diet in the periconceptional period and during pregnancy represents an accessible and effective form of preventive intervention, but it requires personalized recommendations and structured nutritional education begun as early as the preconception period.