The primary purpose of the proposed study is to determine the effects of nutritional exposures present in women before and during pregnancy on infant birth weight for gestational age. It is postulated that maternal nutrition exposures before and during pregnancy, and changes in them over time, influence birth weight. Other lifestyle, biological, and psychosocial exposures may also influence birth weight, or they may interact with nutrition exposures. The effects of these exposures on birth weight and their interactions with the nutrition exposures will be assessed and accounted for in the analyses. Birth weight has been chosen as the primary outcome variable because it is the measure most closely associated with infant morbidity and mortality in the U.S. Nutritional factors have been chosen as the exposure variables because they are often modifiable. The long-term objective of the study is to increase the availability of information that could be applied toward the prevention of poor pregnancy outcomes. The study may contribute particularly useful information as it would be the first prospective, analytical investigation that accounts for the influence of prepregnancy exposure on birth weight. Enrollment of a large number of subjects needed prior to pregnancy is currently possible due to the collaborative arrangement established with a health maintenance organization that serves a large number of women of child bearing age who tend to plan their pregnancies. A system for repeated contacts with potential participants will be set up to ensure successful recruitment. The study design calls for enrolling a cohort of 1,000 eligible women over a 26 month period. A total of 700 deliveries are needed to test nutrition exposures - birth weight hypotheses. Following standardized protocols, repeated assessments of nutritional, biological, lifestyle, and psychosocial exposures would be undertaken before and during pregnancy. Prepregnancy data collection will be concentrated in a two-month period after enrollment to avoid a length bias in women who conceive relatively quickly. Women who fail to conceive within 12 months, and those who experience an early fetal loss would be exited from the study. Women who conceive and maintain a pregnancy for over 20 weeks will be followed through parturition. After controlling for confounders, the effects of the exposures on birth weight for gestational age would be determined by regression methods and by comparing exposed to unexposed women.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01HD019724-03
Application #
3317185
Study Section
Epidemiology and Disease Control Subcommittee 2 (EDC)
Project Start
1989-04-01
Project End
1994-03-31
Budget Start
1991-04-01
Budget End
1992-03-31
Support Year
3
Fiscal Year
1991
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Minnesota Twin Cities
Department
Type
Schools of Public Health
DUNS #
168559177
City
Minneapolis
State
MN
Country
United States
Zip Code
55455
Brown, Judith E; Murtaugh, Maureen A; Jacobs Jr, David R et al. (2002) Variation in newborn size according to pregnancy weight change by trimester. Am J Clin Nutr 76:205-9
Bunin, G R; Gyllstrom, M E; Brown, J E et al. (2001) Recall of diet during a past pregnancy. Am J Epidemiol 154:1136-42
Sidebottom, A C; Brown, J E; Jacobs Jr, D R (2001) Pregnancy-related changes in body fat. Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol 94:216-23
Wen, W; Shu, X O; Jacobs Jr, D R et al. (2001) The associations of maternal caffeine consumption and nausea with spontaneous abortion. Epidemiology 12:38-42
Brown, J E; Kahn, E S; Hartman, T J (1997) Profet, profits, and proof: do nausea and vomiting of early pregnancy protect women from ""harmful"" vegetables? Am J Obstet Gynecol 176:179-81
Brown, J E; Kahn, E S (1997) Maternal nutrition and the outcome of pregnancy. A renaissance in research. Clin Perinatol 24:433-49
Brown, J E; Jacobs Jr, D R; Hartman, T J et al. (1997) Predictors of red cell folate level in women attempting pregnancy. JAMA 277:548-52
Brown, J E; Jacobs Jr, D R; Barosso, G M et al. (1997) Recruitment, retention and characteristics of women in a prospective study of preconceptional risks to reproductive outcomes: experience of the Diana Project. Paediatr Perinat Epidemiol 11:345-58
Brown, J E; Buzzard, I M; Jacobs Jr, D R et al. (1996) A food frequency questionnaire can detect pregnancy-related changes in diet. J Am Diet Assoc 96:262-6
Brown, J E; Potter, J D; Jacobs Jr, D R et al. (1996) Maternal waist-to-hip ratio as a predictor of newborn size: Results of the Diana Project. Epidemiology 7:62-6