Pregnancy-specific dietary guidelines for Americans are not met: Findings from a pilot study

To assess maternal dietary intake during pregnancy and adherence to the 2020-2025 pregnancy-specific Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA).

This was a retrospective observational study. The study population consisted of women who gave birth to term infants (>37 weeks of gestation). Participants were given the Dietary Screener Questionnaire (DSQ) after birth and asked to recall their dietary intake in the last month of pregnancy. Participants' estimated dietary intakes were then compared to the 2020-2025 DGA which includes specific recommendations for pregnant women.

Out of 51 women who completed the DSQ, none consumed the recommended amounts of all surveyed dietary factors. Specifically, only one woman (2%) met the recommended intake of fruits, 11 women (22%) met the recommended intake of calcium, 25 women (49%) exceeded the recommended upper limit for added sugar intake, and none of the women (0%) met the intake of vegetables, whole grains, dairy and fiber.

Women in our study did not adhere to the pregnancy-specific DGA recommendations in the last month of pregnancy. Our findings underscore the need to increase maternal nutritional awareness and education to improve adherence to the DGA.