Dietary Patterns in Pregnancy and the Postpartum Period and the Relationship with Maternal Weight up to One Year after Pregnancy Complicated by Gestational Diabetes

This multicentric cohort study aimed to describe changes in dietary patterns during pregnancy and postpartum and the association with BMI variation at six and twelve months postpartum in women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Between 2014 and 2018, we enrolled women with GDM in prenatal clinics of the Brazilian National Health System and followed them for one year postpartum. The dietary patterns during pregnancy and the postpartum period were obtained by factorial analysis. The relationship between these patterns and variation in postpartum BMI was evaluated by Poisson regression with robust variance adjusted for confounders. We identified three dietary patterns in 584 women, two healthy (generally healthy and Dash type), which were associated with less weight gain (RR 0.77 CI 95% 0.62-0.96 and RR 0.71 CI 95% 0.57-0.88, respectively). The high-risk pattern (based on ultra-processed, high-calorie foods and sweetened drinks) was associated with weight gain (RR 1.31 CI 95% 1.07-1.61 and RR 1.26 CI 95% 1.01-1.59) in six and twelve months postpartum, respectively. Although the participants learned about healthy dieting during pregnancy, dietary habits worsened from pregnancy to postpartum, especially, with lower consumption of fruits and dairy and higher consumption of sweetened beverages, with consequent weight gain postpartum. Postpartum support is needed to prevent weight gain and obesity.