Introduction: pregnancy requires elevated nutritional needs and, due to its high vulnerability, various conditions can interfere in the normal course of pregnancy; therefore, medical follow-up is important. Objectives: to evaluate the nutritional and health status, analyze food intake and investigate the socioeconomic profile of pregnant women attending the Juiz de Fora Health Units (MG). Methods: this was a descriptive observational study. The longitudinal monitoring began in the third trimester of pregnancy and lasted until the first postpartum month. Data collection was carried out in the network of primary health care in eight basic units in the western and southern regions of Juiz de Fora through questionnaires and anthropometric evaluations. Results: 111 women participated in the study; most were eutrophic before the pregnancy; more than half began the prenatal care up to the third month of pregnancy and attended to more than seven consultations in total. Gestational anemia was detected in 20% of women. The sample was predominantly made up of low-income women-half the minimum wage or less. The average intake of macronutrients was within the recommended ranges, being adequate. An inadequate diet consumption of the calcium, iron, and folic acid micronutrients was observed. Conclusions: the evaluated pregnant women had access to prenatal services. However, a lack of nutritional monitoring and provision of guidelines for pregnancy care were observed.

Introduction: birth weight is a determinant factor in the health of newborns. Factors related to health and maternal behaviors influence the birth conditions and, consequently, birth weight. Objectives: to determine the relationship between maternal characteristics and birth weight. Patients and methods: this was a longitudinal study performed in two stages including 87 women. In the first, pregnant women answered a questionnaire with socioeconomic information, variables related to pregnancy, obstetric history, and 24 hours food recall. The second stage took place in the first postpartum month; nursing mothers were questioned through telephone contacts about their delivery characteristics, their newborn, and total weight gain during pregnancy. Logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the relationship between the pregnancy variables and birth weight. Results: the average consumption of iron, calcium, folic acid, and vitamin A were below the nutritional recommendations, except for vitamin C, which was appropriately consumed. After the logistic regression adjustments, the variables pre-pregnancy nutritional status (OR = 5.457; p = 0.012), start of prenatal care (OR = 1.509; p = 0.015), and density of dietary calcium (OR = 2.672; p = 0.048) remained associated with birth weight. Conclusions: the importance of medical and nutritional appropriate follow-up during the prenatal period is highlighted in order to minimize the occurrence of adverse effects on pregnancy and damage in the health status of newborns.