The effects of a nutrition intervention program during pregnancy

The problem of the study was to identify the effects of an individual prescription for protein and calorie requirements during pregnancy on subsequent maternal and infant outcomes. This study was a replication of Agnes Higgins' work at the Montreal Diet Dispensary using an experimental control group design. There were 29 subjects who completed the study. The Agnes Higgins method of nutritional counseling was found to have a significant impact on increasing the amounts of protein and kilocalories consumed by the experimental group. A significant increase in infant birth weights was found in those subjects who consumed an adequate amount of their prescriptions of both protein and kilocalories. No significant difference was found in maternal weight gain or maternal complications between those who ate an adequate versus an inadequate amount of their prescriptions. All of the women with serious obstetrical complications, premature labor and pregnancy induced hypertension, however, were in the group with an inadequate intake. The sample size was inadequate to test all of the hypotheses presented in this study.