Greater adherence to the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet during pregnancy reduces the likelihood of having a large-for-gestational-age newborn

Background/objectives: Studies suggest that greater maternal adherence to the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet reduces the risk of both maternal and fetal adverse health outcomes. The study aimed to evaluate the relationship between adherence to the DASH diet during pregnancy and the classification of birth weight according to gestational age.

Subjects/methods: Secondary analysis of a prospective cohort of 601 mother and child pairs who attended primary healthcare in a Brazilian municipality. Dietary intake was estimated based on 24 h recall and a Food Frequency Questionnaire. Data on gestational duration, birth weight, and newborn sex were obtained from the Live Birth Information System. The relationship between adherence to the DASH diet and birth weight categories was investigated using logistic regression models adjusted for confounding factors.

Results: In total, 10.3% of newborns were classified as small for gestational age (SGA), and 13.3% as large for gestational age (LGA). There was low adherence to the healthy components of the DASH diet. However, it was observed that pregnant women classified in the third tertile of the DASH diet score had a lower chance of having LGA newborns [OR 0.51 (95% CI 0.28; 0.94), p = 0.03]. There was no association between adherence to the DASH diet and SGA newborns [OR 0.87 (95% CI 0.42; 1.84), p = 0.65].

Conclusion: Despite the low adherence to the DASH diet between Brazilian pregnant women, higher adherence scores in its components had a lower chance of having LGA newborns.