OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effects of a prenatal nutritional counselling programme about the benefits of increasing dietary intake of sea fish. STUDY DESIGN: A hospital and parity matched observational comparison study. Four-hundred ninety-nine pregnant women, attending selected clinics for antenatal care, before 20 weeks gestation, were offered a 20-min nutritional advice session. They were encouraged to increase the intake of oily sea fish and reduce intake of food rich in transfatty acid. For each woman interviewed a corresponding control was established. MAIN RESULTS: The mean birth weight was slightly higher in the study group (3349 g vs. 3284 g) and the difference persisted after adjusting for gestational age (85 g/week vs. 83 g/week). The rate of delivery before 37 weeks was lower in the study group (7.3% versus 9.5%). The mean neonatal head circumference was greater in the study group (34.7 cm vs. 34.4 cm). CONCLUSION: The effect of advice to increase intake of oily fish warrants further study.
OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effects of a prenatal nutritional counselling programme about the benefits of increasing dietary intake of sea fish. STUDY DESIGN: A hospital and parity matched observational comparison study. Four-hundred ninety-nine pregnant women, attending selected clinics for antenatal care, before 20 weeks gestation, were offered a 20-min nutritional advice session. They were encouraged to increase the intake of oily sea fish and reduce intake of food rich in transfatty acid. For each woman interviewed a corresponding control was established. MAIN RESULTS: The mean birth weight was slightly higher in the study group (3349 g vs. 3284 g) and the difference persisted after adjusting for gestational age (85 g/week vs. 83 g/week). The rate of delivery before 37 weeks was lower in the study group (7.3% versus 9.5%). The mean neonatal head circumference was greater in the study group (34.7 cm vs. 34.4 cm). CONCLUSION: The effect of advice to increase intake of oily fish warrants further study.