A latest study shows that eating fruits and vegetables during pregnancy can actually prevent premature births.
The researchers said that the intake of whole grains and drinking water, as well as regular diet of boiled potatoes, fish and cooked vegetables, decreases the risk of premature births.
For the study, the researchers analysed the data from the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study that included 66,000 women between 2002 and 2008. The authors did not include the pregnant woman who had diabetes.
The researchers identified three distinct dietary patterns, what they dubbed as 'prudent' (vegetables, fruits, oils, water as a beverage, whole grain cereals, poultry, fibre rich bread), 'Western' (salty and sweet snacks, white bread, desserts, processed meat products), and 'traditional' (potatoes, fish, gravy, cooked vegetables, low fat milk).
The preterm delivery was observed in 3,505 (5.3 percent) women. The analysis showed that an overall 'prudent' dietary pattern contributed in preventing the risk of preterm delivery, especially among women having their first baby, as well as spontaneous and late preterm delivery.
But, the researchers said that the 'Western' dietary pattern was not solely linked with preterm delivery.
The findings further strengthened the past evidence that said that diet, especially one high in fruits and vegetables, is important during pregnancy.
The authors suggest that "diet matters for the risk of preterm delivery, which may reassure medical practitioners that the current dietary recommendations are sound but also inspire them to pay more attention to dietary counseling," the researchers explained in a press release.
