Dietary Assessment of Trace Nutrients — The Pregnant Women’s Intake of Folate, Calcium and Iron —

Abstract

There are few data available regarding the usual dietary intake of pregnant women in Japan. In the present study, we evaluated the dietary intake of folate, calcium, and iron for pregnant women attending the outpatient clinic of our obstetrics and gynecology department. The dietary intake was estimated using weighed dietary records for 7 continuous days of 40 pregnant women with gestational age of 19.9 ± 4.4 weeks. The subjects having sufficient intake of folate (more than 400 μg/day) were 35.0%. Their intake of green vegetables and algae was significantly higher than that of the group having insufficient intake of folate. There were significant differences in the intake of many minerals and vitamins between the two groups. We found a significant correlation between folate intake and the intake of many vitamins and minerals including calcium and iron. About half of folate intake came from vegetables. There were low proportions of subjects who had adequate intake; i.e., according to the recommended dietary allowance for pregnant women, of calcium (47.5%) and iron (0%). These data suggested that awareness of folate intake, green vegetables and well-balanced diet was important for nutritional guidance to pregnant women.