Comparisons of nutrient intakes and dietary patterns between prepregnancy and during pregnancy

The purpose of this study was to investigate dietary intakes of pregnant women and compared the collected data from prepregnancy and during pregnancy. We used two dietary assessment methods including food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) and a typical day recall for postnatal women to collect dietary information during pregnancy and before pregnancy. Our study subjects were from two cohort studies. First cohort were 181 pregnant women who received prenatal follow-up at Taipei Municipal Women's and Children's Hospital. Second cohort consists of 150 postnatal women recruited at Taipei City Hospital, Branch of Women and Children, and National Taiwan University Hospital. By using the FFQ, we found that the nutrient densities of dietary fiber, cholesterol, vitamin E, vitamin B₁, vitamin B₂, calcium, magnesium, phosphorous, zinc, folate, plant protein, and animal fat during pregnancy were higher than pre-pregnancy, while the nutrient densities of vitamin A, niacin, vitamin B ₆, vitamin B₁₂, sodium, and iron were lower than pre-pregnancy. In addition, women during pregnancy ate more milk, eggs, fruit, and soybean products than pre-pregnancy (p < 0.05). By using a typical diet from postnatal women recalled, (remote dietary recall) the average energy intakes before pregnancy was 2813 kcal, the first and the third trimesters were 2076 kcal, and 2300 kcal, respectively. We suggested the dietary intakes assessed by a typical diet from postnatal women recalled were overestimated. This may reflect, in part, the influence of current diet on recall of past diet. In addition, we suggested FFQ gave useful estimates of the nutrient density intakes of pregnant women and appears to be an appropriate tool to assess diet.