Nutrition During Pregnancy
Conditions
Brief summary
Less than 10% of pregnant women consume adequate levels of choline, an essential nutrient for maternal lipid metabolism, placental efficiency, and fetal development. Most prenatal vitamins do not contain choline; a research survey shows that only 6% of OB/GYNs were likely to recommend choline-rich foods to pregnant women. Nutrition education grounded in the Health Belief Model (HBM) has high efficacy among pregnant women; therefore, it is likely that HBM-driven choline education intervention will increase maternal choline levels. No studies have evaluated the influence of prenatal choline education intervention on maternal, placental, and neonatal outcomes. Our preliminary data suggest that increased choline intake corresponds with lower maternal body fat percentage (BF%), infant 1-month BF%, and MSC lipid accumulation, as well as increased placental efficiency. The central hypothesis is that choline education will increase maternal choline levels and improve placental function and infant health. We will test this hypothesis with three aims: to determine the influence of choline education intervention on maternal choline intake, placental efficiency, and infant health at the whole-body and cellular levels. The proposed study will be the first to provide a critical translational understanding of the influence of prenatal choline education intervention on maternal, placental, and child health.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALCholine nutrition education (CNE)
All choline nutrition education (CNE) will be delivered virtually once every 4 weeks at Gestational Week 18, 22, 26, 30, and 34. Participants will also receive a check-in message at Gestational Week 20, 24, 28, and 32, asking them to confirm that they have read through the CNE materials and if they have any questions.
Sponsors
East Carolina University
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
FEMALE
Age
18 Years to 40 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Healthy pregnant individual * Singleton pregnancy * 18-40 years of age * Pre-pregnancy BMI ≥ 18.5
Exclusion criteria
* Any non-pregnancy-related illness or chronic condition that may impact fetal development (i.e., HIV, cancer, heart disease, pre-existing diabetes) or known fetal anomaly * Food allergy to choline-rich foods (i.e., eggs) * Multi fetal pregnancy * \>40 years of age
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Dietary choline consumption | At 16-weeks and 36-weeks gestation: Participants will complete the Automated Self-Administered 24-hour (ASA24) Dietary Assessment Tool on 3 separate days (2 weekdays and 1 weekend day) to determine daily dietary choline intake in grams. | Multiple 24-hour dietary recalls |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Infant body fat | At 1-month postnatal: Infant body composition will be evaluated at 1-month by DXA scan. | DXA scan to measure body fat percentage in 1-month old infants. |
Countries
United States
Contacts
CONTACTEricka M Biagioni, PhD, RDN
Outcome results
None listed