Maternal diet quality during pregnancy and birth outcomes in low- and middle-income countries: a scoping review.

BACKGROUND

Unfavorable perinatal complications, such as low-birth-weight infant, premature infant, and small for gestational age (SGA), continue to be significant community health emergencies in low- and middle-income nations. These results are mainly influenced by insufficient maternal diet quality and social inequality, and income disparity. Though several studies have researched these relations, there is a limited synthesis of their joint effect on prenatal results, underlining the essential of inclusive assessment.

OBJECTIVE

This scoping review is designed to map and make accessible statistics on maternal diet quality and social and economic factors in relation to intimidating delivery consequences among expectant mothers in developing countries.

METHODS

Re-examine the PRISMA-ScR guidelines. An exhaustive examination was performed in PubMed, Science Direct, MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Scopus, Google Scholar, and MedRxiv for investigations published between January 2000 and December 2024. Revision quality was assessed by the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale to ensure methodological consistency and rigor.

RESULTS

Eighty-two studies met the inclusion criteria. Suboptimal dietary variety (≤ 5 food classifications per day) was importantly connected with underweight and premature at birth (AOR: 2.45; 95% CI: 1.55-3.87). Skipping meals was expected premature delivery (AOR: 2.62; 95% CI: 1.41-4.89), whereas food insufficiencies amplified the threat of intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) (AOR: 2.18; 95% CI: 1.02-4.63). Narcotics misuse, uneducated, low income, being a country dweller, and reduced judgment self-sufficiency were reliably associated with associated effect.

CONCLUSIONS

Nutrition during pregnancy and social exclusion, and poverty-stricken conjointly impact pregnancy outcomes in low- and middle-income countries. Integrated policies combining nutrition-specific interventions with socioeconomic empowerment are critical to improving maternal and neonatal health.