Nutrition for a Healthy Pregnancy - National Guidelines for the Childbearing Years

Nutrition for a Healthy Pregnancy - National Guidelines for the Childbearing Years

Executive Summary
These prenatal nutrition guidelines discuss nutrition and healthy eating not only during pregnancy but throughout the childbearing years as they relate to pregnancy. They are directed to health practitioners who, through the course of their work, regularly offer nutrition-related advice and guidance to women. Health practitioners who will find useful information in the guidelines include physicians, nurses, midwives, dietitians and nutritionists, pharmacists, educators and fitness professionals.

Developed with the support of an expert advisory committee including representatives from research, medical, nursing, midwifery and nutrition fields, the guidelines are based whenever possible on available scientific evidence. In the absence of scientific evidence, best accepted practice is presented. Practical advice, tips and suggestions are a part of each section. It is not designed, however to be an all-encompassing practical guide to prenatal nutrition.

The guidelines

provide basic information for communicating consistent messages about nutrition during pregnancy and the childbearing years to women across Canada.
will serve as a basis for the development of practical education and implementation tools for those advising women of childbearing age about nutrition.
will help practitioners identify pregnant women, and women planning to become pregnant, who may be at nutritional risk and refer them to appropriate prenatal programs and services. It is expected that more consistent access to such programs will result.

The population-health model, used to develop the guidelines, considers all the factors that influence a person's health and how they interrelate. These factors, often referred to as health determinants, include an individual's social and economic status, physical environment and access to health services, as well as personal factors such as genetic predisposition, education level, health practices and coping skills. The availability of foods and an individual's capacity to make food choices are greatly influenced by the determinants of health.

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