Development of national dietary and lifestyle guidelines for pregnant women in Lebanon

Abstract

Although a number of international diet and lifestyle guidelines during pregnancy (DLGP) exist in the literature, contextualization to low-and middle-income settings is less common. The aim of this study was to present the Lebanese DLGP and to describe the process followed for their development. A mixed-method approach was used including a review and synthesis of existing international DLGP and a consensus building nominal group technique (NGT) with a multidisciplinary group of experts (n = 11). During the meeting, participants identified the themes of the guidelines, formulated the wording of each themes' guideline and translated the guidelines to the Arabic language. Consensus was defined as an agreement of 80%. Reviewing the literature, a list of 17 main topics were found to be common themes for the DLGP. For the Lebanese DLGP, participants in the NGT meeting selected seven themes from this list: gestational weight gain, diet diversity, hydration, food safety, harmful foods, physical activity and breastfeeding. In addition, the group formulated three themes based on merging/modifying existing themes: supplementation, alcohol and smoking and religious fasting. Two context-specific new themes emerged: wellbeing and nutrition resilience. For each of the identified themes, the group agreed upon the wording of its guidelines and description. This study is the first from the Eastern Mediterranean Region to develop through consensus building, context and culturespecific dietary and lifestyle guidelines for pregnant women. Putting maternal nutrition at the heart of tackling malnutrition and its detrimental health outcomes is a core investment for a better maternal and child health.

Supportive alcohol policy as a key element of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder prevention

“…Research from Greece, the United States (US), and Lebanon described the development of, or existing, substance use in pregnancy guidelines. 25 – 27 US researchers examined the variability in the definition of a standard drink size and guidelines about low-risk alcohol use from a pool of 75 countries. In their findings, only n = 37 countries had identified standard drink sizes.…”

Impact of the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Pandemic on Neonatal Nutrition: Focus on Low- and Middle-Income Countries

“…Crowding of neonates and mothers may increase the risk of respiratory transmission due to inability to maintain hygiene practices, as noted in a report on nosocomial transmission in Botswana [32]. The majority of data and guidelines now suggests that breastfeeding can be done safely with appropriate infection-control measures, with supplementation with pasteurized human milk or formula if needed (also exercising similar control measures) [44][45][46][47][48][49][50].…”

Association of alcohol consumption with abortion among ever-married reproductive age women in Ethiopia: A multilevel analysis

“…In most circumstances, abortion cannot be stopped. However, by leading a healthy lifestyle and avoiding unhealthy risk factors, including smoking, secondhand smoke, alcohol use, and drug use, the odds of a healthy pregnancy may be enhanced and perhaps the risk of miscarriage can be reduced ( 13 , 14 ). High levels of alcohol intake can result in insulin resistance and a high body mass index (BMI), both of which are risk factors for a higher chance of spontaneous miscarriage ( 15 , 16 ).…”