A descriptive survey of maternal protein status and the course and outcome of pregnancy

A descriptive survey of the Nutritional status of 27 pregnant women was conducted at Hill Air Force Base Hospital. Socioeconomic survey, three day diet history and laboratory assessment of blood and urine parameters of protein were used to determine Nutritional status and were related to maternal and infant outcome variables. The purpose of the investigation was to answer the following research questions. 1) What is the relationship between reported dietary intake of protein and calories and measurable laboratory parameters of protein during pregnancy? 2) What is the relationship between reported dietary intake of protein and calories and the course and outcome of pregnancy? 3) What is the relationship between measurable laboratory parameters of proteins and the course and outcome of pregnancy? Pearson “râ€, Chi Square and two tailed “t†tests were used to compare data and answer the research questions. The findings indicated a significant decrease in protein and calorie intake between the first and second trimesters (p=.05). The third trimester reported calorie intake was below the mean in the literature. The reported dietary intake of protein and calories correlated with the laboratory parameter of total protein level in the second trimester significant at the .05 level. The other laboratory parameters failed to correlate significantly with reported dietary intakes. Correlations were found between second trimester reported protein intake and the Ponderal Index of the infant (p=.05). Second trimester reported protein intake also correlated with the fetal/placental weight ratio (p=.05). Dietary intake failed to correlate significantly with any maternal or infant outcome parameter. Protein parameters were correlated with infant outcome variables more frequently than with maternal outcome variables. Second trimester blood urea nitrogen correlated with fetal/placental weight ratio (p=.05). Third trimester albumin levels correlated significantly with placental weight (p=.01), infant weight and occipital-frontal circumference (p=.05). The only maternal outcome variable that correlated with any laboratory parameter was second day postpartum hematocrit to third trimester sermon total protein (p=.01), This was an inverse correlation, as the third trimester protein increased, postpartum hematocrit decrease. There were no significant relationships between maternal complications in the antepartum, intrapartum, or postpartum period and any of the Nutritional parameters surveyed.