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. 2025 Mar 11;11(1):53.
doi: 10.1186/s40795-025-01035-z.

Effectiveness of nutrition counseling in managing gestational weight gain and infant outcomes: a retrospective cohort study

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Effectiveness of nutrition counseling in managing gestational weight gain and infant outcomes: a retrospective cohort study

Marzieh Zare et al. BMC Nutr. .

Abstract

Background: Gestational weight gain (GWG) plays a crucial role in maternal and fetal health outcomes during pregnancy. Excessive weight gain is associated with various complications, emphasizing the importance of effective management strategies. Nutrition counseling has been proposed as a promising intervention to optimize GWG and improve maternal and infant outcomes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of nutrition counseling for pregnant women experiencing unfavorable weight gain during pregnancy, who were referred to a registered dietitian at health centers in Iran.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted in Fars Province, Iran, involving pregnant women with unfavorable weight gain patterns referred to health centers between April 1, 2019, and November 20, 2023. Participants received either nutrition counseling or standard care. Data on maternal weight gain, infant anthropometric measurements, and counseling sessions were collected from the Integrated Health System.

Results: Among 565 enrolled pregnant women, 279 received nutrition counseling. Among pregnant women who experienced unfavorable weight gain and received nutritional counseling, 52.3% successfully attained a desirable weight gain. However, there was no significant difference in the hazard ratio of abnormal weight gain during pregnancy between the two groups. Additionally, no significant association were found in infant birth weight, length, or head circumference between the counseling and non-counseling groups.

Conclusions: Nutritional counseling improved weight gain trajectories in pregnant women, with more achieving desirable weight gain. However, no significant differences were found in neonatal outcomes. Further studies are needed to refine intervention strategies.

Clinical trial number: Not applicable.

Keywords: Community health centers; Gestational weight gain; Infant; Nutrition counseling; Pregnancy.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: This study was conducted according to the guidelines laid down in the Declaration of Helsinki and all procedures involving research study participants were approved by the Tehran University of Medical Sciences ethics committee (IR.TUMS.MEDICINE.REC.1402.059). Written informed consent was obtained from all subjects. The permissions were duly acquired from the Vice-Chancellors of Health at Tehran and Shiraz Universities of Medical Sciences to access the information. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

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