Abstract
Background The extra dietary care women receive after pregnancy, coupled with the effect of their own physiological response during pregnancy, can cause some changes in their dietary habits compared with those before pregnancy. Current studies have mostly focused on detailed foods and specific dietary patterns; less attention has been given to changes in food flavor, cooking methods, and meal frequency before and after pregnancy. This study aimed to investigate these changes in pregnant women in TaiYuan City, China and analyze some possible related factors.Methods A total of 658 pregnant women were asked about their frequency of daily meals, choice of eating at home or out, personal preference for different tastes (salty, spicy, and sweet), cooking methods (frying, braising, sautéing, steaming, and stewing), specific food choices, and other changes in dietary habits before and after pregnancy through a questionnaire. SPSS 24.0 was used for all data statistical analyses. P<0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results The choice of salty, spicy, and sweet tastes changed, and the proportion of women who chose lighter flavors after pregnancy increased (P < 0.001). A positive correlation was found between the choice of lighter salty taste and parity (r = 0.142, P = 0.035), that is, pregnant women with more parity were likely to choose a lighter salty taste after pregnancy. By contrast, a negative correlation was found between the choice of lighter spicy taste and age (r = -0.115, P = 0.048), implying that younger pregnant women were likely to choose a lighter spicy taste after pregnancy. In the traditional Chinese cooking methods, compared with pre-pregnancy, the number of pregnant women who chose frying, braising, and sautéing decreased, whereas that of steaming and stewing increased (P < 0.001).Compared with pre-pregnancy, the number of meals every day of pregnant women increased (from 2.85 to 3.09) (P < 0.001), and the frequency of eating at home every week increased (from 4.82 to 5.52) (P < 0.001).Conclusion Overall differences were found in the eating habits of 658 pregnant women before and after pregnancy. Pregnant women with more parity were likely to choose a lighter salty taste, and younger pregnant women were likely to choose a lighter spicy taste.
Exposure to secondhand smoke in Iranian pregnant women at
home and the related factors