Introduction The maternal system can be influenced by many different extrinsic factors, including nutritional status, which can program nutrient partitioning and ultimately growth, development and function of the major fetal organ systems (Wallace, 1948; Wallace et al., 1999; Godfrey and Barker, 2000; Wu et al., 2006). The trajectory of prenatal growth is sensitive to direct and indirect effect...

Diet and patterns of eating during pregnancy can affect perinatal outcomes through direct physiologic effects or by stressing the fetus in ways that permanently affect phenotype. Supplements are not a magic nutritional remedy, and evidence of profound benefit for most supplements remains inconclusive. However, research supports calcium supplements to decrease preeclampsia. Following a low glyce...

Historically, considerable efforts have been made to understand how nutrition impacts health and productivity during the postnatal period. While maternal nutrition during pregnancy plays an essential role in proper fetal and placental development, less is known about how maternal nutrition impacts the health and productivity of the offspring. Indeed, the prenatal growth trajectory is sensitive ...