Food adaptations and challenges during early pregnancy: A qualitative exploration of women's experience

Maternal nutrition is a significant factor influencing both fetal and maternal health. Barriers to healthy eating during pregnancy have been mostly investigated in terms of nutritional awareness and compliance with nutritional guidelines. However, little is known about women's experiences of changing dietary practices in the first trimester of pregnancy specifically.

To explore women's experiences of food adaptation in the context of daily life in early pregnancy, focusing on challenges and strategies to deal with them.

Face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted with a purposeful sample of 20 pregnant women after 16 weeks' gestation in Switzerland. Data analysis followed the principles of thematic analysis.

We produced three core themes - "navigating the information jungle", "handling pregnancy symptoms", "keeping pregnancy secret and social norms around meals" - reflecting three significant challenges women faced in early pregnancy, and eight strategies they used to deal with these challenges.

Our findings highlight that food adaptations in early pregnancy lie at the intersection of bodily, cognitive, emotional, and psychosocial dimensions of eating. The absence of consultation with a perinatal health professional characterises early pregnancy, fostering women's anxiety and uncertainty in relation to nutritional recommendations. Pregnant women should be entitled to an earlier reimbursed follow-up appointment during the first trimester. A consultation with a midwife or a dietitian would be particularly well-suited to provide them with reassurance and to help them achieve healthy diet despite the challenges they encounter.