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Preliminary results of the effect of ‘Healthy Start’, a new food benefit, on the dietary behaviour of women during pregnancy and post partum in Sheffield, UK

The HS project in Sheffield is a cohort study investigating maternal and child nutrition practices in women during pregnancy and post partum and their infants before and after the introduction of the new food benefit scheme. Short-term effects of the introduction of the new scheme on the dietary intakes and eating patterns of two cohorts of women during pregnancy and post partum will be described. Study participants included Caucasian English-speaking women who were eligible for, or recipients of, either WFS milk tokens or ‘HS’ vouchers. Two non-random samples of women during pregnancy and post partum were recruited in the before-HS and the after-HS study. Dietary intakes of the two cohorts were determined using a validated semi-quantified FFQ at 20 weeks of pregnancy and at 4 weeks after delivery respectively. Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare differences in the percentage of women during pregnancy and post partum meeting the recommended reference nutrient intakes (RNI) (4) . Analysis of the preliminary results showed a significant difference in dietary behaviour after the introduction of the new food benefit for women both during pregnancy and post partum. Mean intakes of key nutrients such as energy, folate, Fe and Ca were significantly higher under the HS scheme. Similarly, an increase in the proportion of women meeting the RNI was observed (Tables 1 and 2). This improvement was primarily a result of increased consumption of fruit and vegetables, fruit juice, meat, fish and oat and wholegrain breakfast cereals.