Food choices of low-income women during pregnancy and postpartum

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to examine dietary behavior during pregnancy and postpartum in a multiethnic sample of low-income women. Subjects: Participants were 149 Medicaid-qualified women (30% white, 24% African American, and 46% Hispanic; median age, 22 years). Design: Subjects were recruited into a longitudinal cohort design 0 to 1 days following delivery. Dietary choices during pregnancy and the first 6 months postpartum were assessed via validated food frequency questionnaires administered at 6 weeks and 6 months postpartum, respectively. Statistical analyses performed: Frequencies and means were used for descriptive purposes. Paired and independent sample t tests were used for continuous variables; χ² and McNemar tests were used for categorical variables. Results: In all subjects, mean daily servings of grains (7.4 vs 6.2, P<.004), vegetables (2.5 vs 2.0, P<.002), and fruit (3.4 vs 1.7, P<.001) declined following childbirth, while the percentage of energy from fat (37.3% vs 38.4%, P<.023) and added sugar (14.4% vs 16.4%, P<.019) increased. Women who breastfed their infants at 6 months postpartum reported lower intakes of total fat (34.2% vs 37.9%, P<.005) during pregnancy and higher fruit (2.2 vs 1.6, P<.05) and vegetable (2.6 vs 1.8, P<.02) intakes in postpartum than those who bottle-fed. Also, a greater proportion of lactating than nonlactating women (66.7% vs 36.9%, P<.05) met recommendations for fruit intake during pregnancy. Conclusions: The findings suggest that the transition from pregnancy to postpartum may be associated with a negative impact on dietary behavior that could compromise nutritional status in low-income women.