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Diet and nutritional status during pregnancy

Adequate nutritional status and good dietary intake during preconception and pregnancy have been recognized as major contributors to healthy birth outcomes. On the other hand, undernutrition and suboptimal diets with poor energy and micronutrients during pregnancy have been associated with poor fetal growth, pre-term delivery, poor infant survival and increased risk of chronic diseases in later life. Suboptimal prenatal diets have also been associated with gestational diabetes and pre-eclampsia in the mother and increased risk of stillbirth and largefor-gestational age in the baby. While the global prevalence of low birth weight is declining slowly, the current prevalence of low birth weight is still estimated to be 15?5 % worldwide or more than 20 million infants worldwide. Nearly 96 % of these low-birth-weight babies are born in developing countries. One of the major goals in ‘A World Fit for Children’, the Declaration and Plan of Action adopted by the UN General Assembly Special Session on Children in 2002, was to reduce low birth weight incidence by at least one-third – by two-thirds by 2015. And while some progress has been made, it has not been enough. To achieve this goal, it is of paramount importance that women commence their pregnancies healthy and well nourished and that they continue good diets throughout pregnancy. In this issue we highlight ten articles focusing on pregnancy nutrition that span across continents and include lowto high-income countries.