title: Nutrition and mental health in early pregnancy: a pilot study.
abstract: A pilot study was conducted to explore the dietary quality and maternal psychosocial status during the early weeks of pregnancy in a convenience sample of women (N = 13) recruited from two Planned Parenthood Clinics. Women were between 19 and 31 years of age, having their first pregnancy, and were on average 7 weeks pregnant. Average caloric intake was 2653 kcal/day consisting of 34% fat. Six of the women had inadequate intake of calcium (x = 800 mg) and 11 had low iron intake (x = 20 mg). Dietary Quality Index-Pregnancy scores were below recommendations and six women had scores indicating a major depression. Dietary intakes of these low-income women early in pregnancy did not meet recommendations for pregnancy. Identifying factors that are related to poor dietary intake, such as low-income and the presence of depression, in early pregnancy may promote timely recognition of women in need of comprehensive monitoring throughout the pregnancy.
authors.affiliation: University of Texas at Austin, School of Nursing, Austin, TX 78701-1499, USA. efowles@mail.nur.utexas.edu
authors.forename: Eileen R
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Fowles
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Murphey
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002118:Calcium / Q000008:administration & dosage; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology; D004032:Diet / Q000592:standards*; D015930:Diet Records; D004034:Diet Surveys; D002149:Energy Intake; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007501:Iron / Q000008:administration & dosage; D044342:Malnutrition; D008603:Mental Health; D015596:Nutrition Assessment; D009751:Nutritional Requirements; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011203:Poverty; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D007501:Iron; D002118:Calcium