A healthy diet of the future mother is essential for the proper development of pregnancy, as well as for the health of the baby. A recent study by Norwegian researchers notes that a healthy diet in pregnancy reduces the risk of premature delivery.
Pregnant women have many reasons to opt for healthy eating habits, but it is the first time that healthy eating during pregnancy is statistically related to a lower risk of birth before the 37th week of gestation.
The study, published in the 'British Medical Journal', was conducted based on questionnaires of some 66,000 women who were asked what they had eaten and drank throughout pregnancy.
They were classified into three groups: 'healthy' to those who had had a high consumption of vegetables, fruits, cereals, nuts, yogurts, water, etc., 'traditional', who had had a diet rich in cooked fish, potatoes or vegetables, sauces, margarine, etc., and 'western', who had had a higher consumption of sweet or savory snacks, chips, meat, cookies or buns.
They found that the group of women with a healthier diet presented an approximately 15 percent lower risk of having a preterm birth compared to those of the third group. This, regardless of ten other risk factors related to early delivery such as maternal age, weight, physical activity, alcohol consumption, tobacco, etc.
As we always say in these cases, it does not imply that the cause of preterm birth is poor diet, but investigations like these are worth it for always recommend a healthy diet during pregnancy and thus reduce the risk of complications both during pregnancy and for the future health of the baby.
