Experts highlight infant health benefits from minor diet changes in pregnancy

In a recent interview with Contemporary OB/GYN, Elinor L. Sullivan, PhD, and Elizabeth K. Wood, PhD, professor and assistant professor, respectively, at Oregon Health & Science University, discussed how minor changes in maternal diet may improve infant neurodevelopment.

This changes included switching from white bread to whole grains, from soft drinks to something else, and from white rice to brown rice. Sullivan also highlighted that discussing nutrition in general can lead to significant improvements in baby health.

Contemporary OB/GYN:

What are some diet tips providers can give their patients during pregnancy?

Elizabeth K. Wood, PhD:

Yeah, so, as Eleanor said, you know, we do look at this as you know, this potential for behavioral or lifestyle modification during pregnancy that can help support the baby's developing brain and sort of give them that best start in life. But we don't think that you have to really consider it as this whole lifestyle overhaul. Instead, we think that, as Eleanor said, you know, we can make these small dietary changes. So, one suggestion would be Okay, so maybe instead of drinking a soft drink every day, I'll drink something else. Or maybe instead of, you know, having white bread, maybe I'll switch that for whole grains. Or instead of white rice, I'll switch that first for brown rice, and making those small dietary changes we think could have a big impact on the baby's future.

Elinor L. Sullivan, PhD:

And I think talking about nutrition in general is also important. Sometimes, that's not always the focus of our clinical care visits. And so, this kind of gives emphasis of having those discussions around nutrition in general and being able to give specific, tangible ways that you might modify your diet to be able to improve your baby's health, such as thinking about the types of carbohydrates that you're consuming. You wouldn't have to give up bread. You would just maybe change from white bread to whole wheat bread, things like that, where it's a small change that makes a big impact.

Contemporary OB/GYN:

Is there anything you would like to add?

Wood:

Well, one thing that I want to point out is that there are resources like the My Pregnancy Plate that could be very useful for clinicians that are talking to their patients about making these types of changes and sort of keeping the baby's developing brain, and especially their risk for future mental health concerns in mind. Another thing that we wanted to highlight is just that we understand that, you know, the food that we eat and the food system that we're in is one that is challenging, and it can be hard, I think, to hear that, “Hey, you know, you need to change your diet,” but, we really hope that this work will play into policies and improving systems and sort of improving our focus as a society and as a medical community as a whole, into supporting the pregnant patients and their developing babies to, you know, empower them to make the healthiest choices for their babies.

This video is part 3 of a 3-part series. Click here for part 1 and here for part 2.

References

1. Study confirms link between maternal diet, risk to infant behavioral health. Oregon Health & Science University. March 26, 2025. Accessed March 28, 2025. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1078391
2. Wood EK, Nomura O, Ablow JC, et al. Higher prenatal dietary glycemic index in the third trimester of pregnancy is associated with infant negative affect at 6 months. Scientific Reports. 2025;15. doi:10.1038/s41598-025-91886-0