Pregnancy & Healthy Eating

👶🥗 Pregnancy & Healthy Eating — We’ve Got Work To Do

A new NIH study reveals a surprising truth: most people in the U.S. don’t follow healthy diets during or after pregnancy — despite knowing how important nutrition is for parent and baby health.

📉 Using data from 10,000+ people, the study shows:

• Very few pregnant or postpartum individuals meet national dietary guidelines.

• People with lower income and education are especially affected.

• Gaps in nutrition persist even months after giving birth.

  
  

🧠 Why it matters:What we eat in pregnancy isn’t just about today — it lays the foundation for long-term health outcomes for both parent and child. Poor diets can increase risks of:

• Low birth weight

• Gestational diabetes

• Obesity and heart disease later in life

  
  

🛍️ Access, affordability, and culturally relevant food support are critical. It’s not about blaming individual choices — it’s about building systems that make healthy options accessible and sustainable.

Let’s make maternal health holistic — support policies that bring nutritious food, education, and equity into every community.

📎 Read the full update from NIH here: Healthy eating not common during and after pregnancy