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Review
. 2016 Oct 14;8(10):629.
doi: 10.3390/nu8100629.

Maternal Diet and Nutrient Requirements in Pregnancy and Breastfeeding. An Italian Consensus Document

Franca Marangoni  1 , Irene Cetin  2 , Elvira Verduci  3 , Giuseppe Canzone  4 , Marcello Giovannini  5 , Paolo Scollo  6 , Giovanni Corsello  7 , Andrea Poli  8
Affiliations
Review

Maternal Diet and Nutrient Requirements in Pregnancy and Breastfeeding. An Italian Consensus Document

Franca Marangoni et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

The importance of lifestyle and dietary habits during pregnancy and breastfeeding, for health of mothers and their offspring, is widely supported by the most recent scientific literature. The consumption of a varied and balanced diet from the preconceptional period is essential to ensure both maternal well-being and pregnancy outcomes. However, the risk of inadequate intakes of specific micronutrients in pregnancy and lactation is high even in the most industrialized countries. This particularly applies to docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), iron, iodine, calcium, folic acid, and vitamin D, also in the Italian population. Moreover, the risk of not reaching the adequate nutrient supply is increased for selected groups of women of childbearing age: those following exclusion diets, underweight or overweight/obese, smokers, adolescents, mothers who have had multiple or close pregnancies, and those with previous unfavorable pregnancy outcomes.

Keywords: DHA; adequate intake; breastfeeding; micronutrients; nutrient requirement; pregnancy.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The founding sponsors had no role in the preparation of contents, in writing of the manuscript, and in the decision to publish the document.

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