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Objectives: To investigate possible associations between maternal diet during pregnancy and fetal growth., Method: Factor analysis was used to explore dietary patterns among pregnant women. The association between maternal dietary patterns and fetal growth (in terms of small for gestational age, SGA) was investigated by logistic regression. Prospective cohort study, including information on 44 612 women in Denmark., Results: Two major dietary patterns were defined: the first pattern was characterized by red and processed meat, high-fat dairy, and the second pattern was characterized by intake of vegetables, fruits, poultry and fish. Women were classified into three classes according to their diet: the first class had high intake of foods of the first dietary pattern, and was classified as 'the Western diet', the second class preferred foods of the second pattern and was classified as the 'Health Conscious'; and the third one had eaten foods of both patterns, and was classified as the 'Intermediate'. The odds ratio of having a small for gestational-age infant (with a birth weight below the 2.5th percentile for gestational age and gender) was 0.74 (95% CI 0.64-0.86) for women in the Health Conscious class compared with women in the Western Diet class. The analyses were adjusted for parity, maternal smoking, age, height, pre-pregnancy weight and father's height., Conclusions: Our results indicated that a diet in pregnancy, based on red and processed meat and high-fat diary, was associated with increased risk for SGA. Further studies are warranted to identify specific macro-, or micronutrients that may be underlying these associations.

Background: Cow milk contains many potentially growth-promoting factors., Objective: The objective was to examine whether milk consumption during pregnancy is associated with greater infant size at birth., Design: During 1996-2002, the Danish National Birth Cohort collected data on midpregnancy diet through questionnaires and on covariates through telephone interviews and ascertained birth outcomes through registry linkages. Findings were adjusted for mother's parity, age, height, prepregnant BMI, gestational weight gain, smoking status, and total energy intake; father's height; and family's socioeconomic status The analyses included data from 50,117 mother-infant pairs., Results: Mean (+/-SD) consumption of milk was 3.1 +/- 2.0 glasses/d. Milk consumption was inversely associated with the risk of small-for gestational age (SGA) birth and directly with both large-for-gestational age (LGA) birth and mean birth weight (P for trend < 0.001). In a comparison of women drinking >or=6 glasses/d with those drinking 0 glasses/d, the odds ratio for SGA was 0.51 (95% CI: 0.39, 0.65) and for LGA was 1.59 (1.16, 2.16); the increment in mean birth weight was 108 g (74, 143 g). We also found graded relations (P < 0.001) for abdominal circumference (0.52 cm; 0.35, 0.69 cm), placental weight (26 g; 15, 38 g), birth length (increment: 0.31 cm; 0.15, 0.46 cm), and head circumference (0.13 cm; 0.04, 0.25 cm). Birth weight was related to intake of protein, but not of fat, derived from milk., Conclusion: Milk intake in pregnancy was associated with higher birth weight for gestational age, lower risk of SGA, and higher risk of LGA.

Recent research suggests that the diet consumed in, or shortly before, pregnancy can potentially lead to maldevelopment and diseases in the offspring, which may become apparent at any time from the embryonic stage until old age. For example, maternal diet may affect the chance of twinning (and associated complications), malformation risk, brain development, and the offspring's fecundity and risk of contracting cardiovascular diseases and cancer in adult life. Prospectively designed longitudinal studies with sufficient size and data quality are much needed to substantiate or refute these hypotheses. At present, the Danish National Birth Cohort is likely to be the largest epidemiological database containing extensive information on maternal dietary exposures. By October 2002, 100 000 women had been recruited in early pregnancy, for long-term follow-up of themselves and their offspring. The present paper details the information available in the database on early nutritional exposures with emphasis on maternal dietary intake. We also present distributions of selected nutritional exposures.