Abstract
Diet influences the health of pregnant women and their children in prenatal, postnatal and adult periods. GC-FID fatty acids profile analysis in maternal serum and a survey of dietary habits were performed in 161 pregnant patients from the II Faculty and Clinic of Obstetrics and Gynaecology of the Medical University of Warsaw. Their diet did not fulfil all nutritional recommendations regarding dietary fat sources. Olive and rapeseed oil were the most popular edible oils. High usage of sunflower oil as well as high consumption of butter were also observed, whereas fish and fish oil intake by pregnant women was low. A chemometric approach for nutritional data, connected with anthropometric, sociodemographic and biochemical parameters regarding mothers and newborns, was conducted for diet and its impact estimation. It revealed four clusters of patients with differing fatty acids profile, which resulted from differences in their dietary habits. Multiparous women to a lesser extent followed dietary recommendations, which resulted in deterioration of fatty acids profile and higher frequency of complications. Observed high usage of sunflower oil is disquieting due to its lower oxidative stability, whereas high butter consumption is beneficial due to conjugated linoleic acids supply. Pregnant women should also be encouraged to introduce fish and fish oil into their diet, as these products are rich sources of long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC PUFA). Multiparous women should be given special medical care by medical providers (physicians, midwifes and dietitians) and growing attention from the government to diminish the risk of possible adverse effects affecting mother and child.