Determining the effect of pre-pregnancy intuitive eating behaviour, during pregnancy mindful eating and nutritional status on gestational weight gain

The aim of this study is to determine the effect of intuitive eating behavior before pregnancy, during pregnancy mindful eating and nutritional status on gestational weight gain. The study was conducted on 61 pregnant women between the ages of 18-40 years, with a single pregnancy, within the three months of pregnancy, knew their pre-pregnancy body weight and accepted to participate in the study, admitted to the Gaziantep MMT American Hospital Gynecology and Obstetrics Outpatient Clinic. With a questionnaire, the general information of the pregnant women, their health status about the pregnancy period, anthropometric measurements, 24-hour dietary intake recall, food consumption frequency, Intuitive Eating Scale-2 (IES-2), Mindful Eating Questionnare-30 (MEQ-30) and Mediterranean Diet Quality Index (KIDMED) questionnaire were evaluated. Diet quality was evaluated by using Healthy Eating Index-2015. Gestational weight gain of the pregnant women was determined in 26.2% of the pregnant women below the recommended ranges, 27.9% within the recommended ranges and 45.9% above the recommended range. Fat and sodium intake were high, vitamins B1, B6, folate and iron intakes were insufficient. Pregnant women had an average Mean KIDMED score was 6.7±1.8, HEI-2015 score was 52.1±9.8, IES-2 score was 3.4±0.5 and MEQ-30 score was 3.5±0.4. The relationship between gestational weight gain of pregnant women and pre-pregnancy BMI was found to be statistically significant (p=0.008, p<0.05) and according to KIDMED evaluation, the difference between MEQ-30 was found to be statistically significant (p=0.004, p<0.05). A positive and significant correlation was found between mean score of MEQ-30 and their KIDMED score and HEI-2015 score (p=0.000, r=0.531, medium strong and p=0.021, r=0.296, poor, respectively). The positive effect of mindful eating on diet quality and adherence to the Mediterranean diet suggests that it may be a new approach that can be used in nutrition education during pregnancy. More studies are needed to give clearer recommendations about intuitive eating and eating awareness behaviors in pregnant women.