maternal size, which in turn is an outcome of poor nutritional status of the mother. c) Infant mortality The major components of infant mortality i.e. perinatal ( weeks of gestation to days postnatal) and early neonatal ( days - month after birth) mortality, are directly related to the health and nutritional status of the mother during pregnancy. Due to high incidence of low birth weight and prematurity in poor - communities perinatal and neonatal death rates are also higher and contribute to almost % of infant deaths.
d) Development of brain and mental function The peak period of human brain growth is in the last few weeks of intrauterine and first months of extra uterine life. After this, the brain growth slows down, nutritional insults during these phase can be expected to affect brain development and lead to poor mental function. e) Delayed consequences of foetal growth retardation In recent years, it is increasingly recognised that effects of foetal malnutrition continues into the adult age, if the infant survives. It is observed that the incidence of chronic metabolic disease like diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular insufficiencies and cerebrovascular stroke are more common in these infant when grown into adulthood than the normal birth weight adults.
. . Nutrition requirement during pregnancy a) Calories Energy requirement during pregnancy is increased for maintaining the growth of the foetus, placenta and maternal tissues and for the increased basal metabolic rate (BMR). The additional energy cost of pregnancy for a kg woman has been estimated to be around , kilocalories.
The energy needs are evenly distributed throughout the pregnancy. Energy requirements are also influenced by the pre pregnancy body weight, physical activity and age. WHO recommends an additional Kcal/day in the 1st trimester and Kcal/day in the last trimesters. b) Protein The additional protein requirement during pregnancy is mainly due to accretion of protein by the foetus, the enlargement of uterus, mammary glands, placenta, formation of amniotic fluid and storage reserves for labour, delivery and lactation which is around 1000g for the entire pregnancy.
For this additional daily requirement,