About this Research Topic
Globally, the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, man-made conflicts, and economic decline, have worsened the double burden of malnutrition and acute hunger. These issues impact pregnant women worldwide, particularly those from underprivileged, marginalized, and rural populations. The associated rise in food insecurity has serious implications for achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 of achieving zero hunger by 2030.
Optimizing maternal nutrition before, during, and after birth has wide-ranging benefits for the immediate and life-long health of both mother and baby. Although interventions for maternal nutrition exist, novel approaches are required to address the wider systemic factors affecting maternal nutrition, and to guide implementation of evidence-based guidelines for maternal health, particularly in low resource settings.
Women have unique nutritional needs to support pregnancy and breastfeeding, spanning the preconceptual, antepartum and postpartum periods. Globally, many women are facing worsening food insecurity due to ongoing poverty, and the added impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, and man-made conflicts. These factors can affect access to affordable and nutritious food, and together with wider social factors, including gender inequity, make pregnant women more vulnerable to malnutrition at a time when their nutritional status is particularly important, for them and for their babies. Inadequate nutrition during pregnancy may result in a higher risk of maternal complications, for example; relating to nutritional deficiencies, such as iron, folate, iodine, calcium, and zinc, which may, in turn, contribute to increased risk of anemia, postpartum hemorrhage, and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. Maternal malnutrition is also linked to low birth weight and adverse birth outcomes. Addressing these gender dimensions of food insecurity and the wider social inequalities, and their impact on health, are central to SDGs 3, 5, and 10.
The scope of this Research Topic is to highlight the systemic issues affecting maternal nutrition globally, ranging from: the impacts of climate change upon food security and maternal nutrition; food policy and supply chains in providing maternal nutrition in humanitarian settings; and the associations between preconceptual planning, micronutrient deficiencies, gestational weight gain and breastfeeding on the immediate and long-term health of mothers and babies.
The overall aim of this Research Topic is to provide insight into ways in which SDG2 of zero hunger might be met for pregnant women across the world, before and after birth, and will further address several other SDGs (3, 5, 10) to improve maternal and newborn health, globally.
Optimizing maternal nutrition before, during, and after birth has wide-ranging benefits for the immediate and life-long health of both mother and baby. Although interventions for maternal nutrition exist, novel approaches are required to address the wider systemic factors affecting maternal nutrition, and to guide implementation of evidence-based guidelines for maternal health, particularly in low resource settings.
Women have unique nutritional needs to support pregnancy and breastfeeding, spanning the preconceptual, antepartum and postpartum periods. Globally, many women are facing worsening food insecurity due to ongoing poverty, and the added impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, and man-made conflicts. These factors can affect access to affordable and nutritious food, and together with wider social factors, including gender inequity, make pregnant women more vulnerable to malnutrition at a time when their nutritional status is particularly important, for them and for their babies. Inadequate nutrition during pregnancy may result in a higher risk of maternal complications, for example; relating to nutritional deficiencies, such as iron, folate, iodine, calcium, and zinc, which may, in turn, contribute to increased risk of anemia, postpartum hemorrhage, and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. Maternal malnutrition is also linked to low birth weight and adverse birth outcomes. Addressing these gender dimensions of food insecurity and the wider social inequalities, and their impact on health, are central to SDGs 3, 5, and 10.
The scope of this Research Topic is to highlight the systemic issues affecting maternal nutrition globally, ranging from: the impacts of climate change upon food security and maternal nutrition; food policy and supply chains in providing maternal nutrition in humanitarian settings; and the associations between preconceptual planning, micronutrient deficiencies, gestational weight gain and breastfeeding on the immediate and long-term health of mothers and babies.
The overall aim of this Research Topic is to provide insight into ways in which SDG2 of zero hunger might be met for pregnant women across the world, before and after birth, and will further address several other SDGs (3, 5, 10) to improve maternal and newborn health, globally.
Keywords: Maternal health, nutrition, maternal diet
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