| Popis: |
Pregnancy has been identified as a valuable time for initiating healthy behaviour changes as women have an increased willingness to develop new habits and incorporate health information during this life stage (Ball et al., 2016; Abayomi et al., 2020). Research suggests that making healthy dietary choices during pregnancy decreases the likelihood of developing poor health outcomes among mothers, including excess gestational weight gain, hypertension, anemia, and miscarriage (Ball et al., 2016; Arrish et al., 2016). A healthy maternal diet is also associated with a reduced risk of poor infant outcomes such as small or large for gestational age, birth defects, and the development of childhood obesity and chronic disease across the life course (Arrish et al., 2016; Ball et al., 2016; Othman et al., 2018). Pregnant women rely on healthcare professionals (HCPs) to provide suitable nutrition advice, however, there are inconsistencies between pregnant women’s needs and their HCP’s guidance (Lobo et al., 2020; Lucas et al., 2014). The three most common HCPs for pregnancy are family physicians, obstetricians, and midwives (Murray-Davis et al., 2019). Although HCPs play a role in providing nutrition advice and believe in the importance of healthy nutrition during pregnancy, nutrition training is not consistently integrated into their education (Frenk et al., 2010; Kris-Etherton et al., 2014; Lucas et al., 2014), which could lead to them providing misinformation such as nutrition recommendations that are inconsistent with guidelines (Funnell et al., 2018). At present, there is limited evidence summarizing the overall nutrition recommendations provided by family physicians, midwives, and obstetricians. Therefore, this systematic review will identify and summarize the published evidence of the nutrition recommendations that midwives, general practitioners, and obstetrician-gynecologists provide during pregnancy. |
