VN: Life-Cycle and Vegetarian Diets (2007-2009)
Models for Organizing Research on Vegetarian Nutrition in Pregnancy
Research on vegetarian nutrition in pregnancy generally follows one of two different models of the effects of maternal nutrition on the health of the baby.
While the research on macronutrients generally relates maternal macronutrient intake to Infant/Fetal Health and birth outcomes (see Figure 1), the model for the research on micronutrients generally involves a mediating step: maternal nutrient bioavailability (see Figure 2)
Figure 1: Model for Vegetarian Diet in Pregnant Women and Birth Outcomes: Macronutrients
Figure 2: Model for Vegetarian Diet in Pregnant Women and Birth Outcomes: Micronutrients
