Healthy Eating Could Help Prevent Risk of Preterm Delivery

Taking the necessary steps to ensure a healthy and positive pregnancy for yourself and the outcome of your child can be an important step to an easier delivery. And a recent study conducted by researchers from the University of Gothenburg, Sahlgrenska University Hospital and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health shows just how important a diet of fruits and vegetables, along with whole grains and various proteins, can help to reduce the risk of a preterm delivery.

For the study, researchers examined 66,000 pregnant Norwegian women, along with information regarding their general lifestyle such as living conditions, level of education, weight, smoking habits, income, alcohol consumption, medical factors, including preterm delivery and number of children.

Findings showed that the group of women with the 'healthiest' diets during pregnancy had a 15 percent lower risk of a preterm delivery when compared to those with unhealthier diets-a correlation which remained after controlling for ten other known risk factors for preterm delivery.

"Pregnant women have many reasons to choose a healthy diet with lots of vegetables, fruit, whole grain products and some types of fish, but this is the first time we can statistically link healthy eating habits to reduced risk of preterm delivery," said Linda Englund-Ögge, researcher at the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, via a press release.

Preterm delivery is defined as spontaneous or induced delivery that begins before the end of the gestation period at week 37 and can be associated with acute and long-term complications, along with a major problem in modern maternity care. Certain measure are often used to prevent preterm delivery and can become a high priority to do so.

"'No, and it is not harmful to occasionally eat something unhealthy. But our study shows that the dietary recommendations given to pregnant women are important," Englund-Ögge adds, via the release. "Dietary studies can be very complex. Any given food item may contain a wide range of substances and is usually consumed together with other foods. This makes it difficult to find out its exact effects of one single food. We show that there is a statistically established link between a healthy diet and reduced risk of preterm delivery, but our study wasn't designed to identify any underlying mechanisms."

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More information regarding the study can be found via the BMJ.