Maternal and child nutrition: nutrition and weight management in pregnancy, and nutrition in children up to 5 years—summary of new NICE guidance

Abstract

### What you need to know Nutrition during pregnancy and in early childhood can have a noticeable short term and long term impact on health of the mother/parent and the child, including complications related to pregnancy and development throughout childhood. Promoting optimal nutrition during pregnancy and early childhood is important to address health inequalities among disadvantaged populations.1234 For example, in the UK, the uptake of folic acid supplementation before pregnancy and the rate of breastfeeding are lowest among those living in the most deprived areas and younger parents.56 This article summarises select recommendations from the new National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guideline on maternal and child nutrition: nutrition and weight management in pregnancy, and nutrition in children up to 5 years.7 This guideline replaces the old NICE guideline on maternal and child nutrition (PH11) and the recommendations on weight management during pregnancy from the NICE guideline on weight management before, during, and after pregnancy (PH27), which have been stood down. Many sections in the guideline reinforce existing UK government advice, and the NICE guideline aims to improve the uptake of this advice. The guidance is aimed towards all healthcare workers (including midwives, health visitors, …