Nutrient intake of pregnant Asian women at Sorrento Maternity Hospital, Birmingham.

The dietary intake of pregnant Asian women (that is originating from the Indian subcontinent) attending Sorrento Maternity Hospital in Birmingham was determined, using the weighed and recall techniques, at five-weekly intervals from 18 to 38 weeks of pregnancy. Mean energy intake of the group was 7.1 MJ (1700 kcal)/d. The intakes of most nutrients were substantially below those consumed by pregnant European women in Britain, a little below those of expectant Pakistani mothers in Islamabad, and about the same as those of expectant East London mothers. Intakes of vitamin D, total folate, vitamin B6, zinc and magnesium were particularly low. These observations suggest that a number of Asian women in Birmingham are likely to experience nutritional stress in pregnancy, and there is some anthropometric and biochemical evidence from Sorrento, published elsewhere (Bissenden et al. 1981), to support this. A possibly beneficial feature of the diet was a low sodium intake (2 g/d). Previous work at this hospital has noted a lower prevalence of hypertension in pregnant Asian women (Wharton et al. 1980; Bissenden et al. 1981).