Concepts of nutrition in adolescent pregnancy

The pregnant adolescent presents a special challenge to health care providers. Large nutrient and calorie requirements need to be met at a time when she is likely to have an intense concern about weight. Peer pressures, time constraints, her need to exert independence from parents and family, and the overwhelming pressures which may be associated with teenage pregnancy, may be more important determinants of her food behaviors than knowledge of what she should eat to have a healthy pregnancy. Health care providers need to be able to assess the nutritional status and specific determinants of eating behaviors for each young woman and make recommendations designed to fit into her life. These suggestions should be compatible, to the extent possible, with the norms of the young woman's primary reference group, be it family or peers. Also important is an assessment of her cognitive ability. If she has not developed the ability to think futuristically or abstractly, the provider will need to emphasize the short-term benefits to her of healthy eating as opposed to focusing on how she can eat to have a healthy baby in a number of months. Again, specific recommendations on types and quantities of foods as well as timing and location of eating may be necessary.