BY: ALEX MURRAY

An online survey is underway from dieticians at the University of Newcastle, investigating how diet impacts pregnant women and their babies.

Using the survey, researchers are able to assess mother’s in their final trimester in the ways they are eating and whether there is a link between nutrition and healthcare costs.

This will help nutritionists know what to recommend to women at different stages of their pregnancy as well as whether these healthy eating theories are saving the health system any money.

The chief researcher from the University of Newcastle, Professor Clare Collins says:

“Pregnancy is a very important time for women and nutrition can become very confusing with too many recommendations of what to eat and what to avoid.”

“At the moment it’s really hard for mums to access nutrition advice so we’re trying to come up with a rationale to say – it can save everyone time and money if we give mums advice while they’re pregnant.”

Women who can volunteer for the survey need to be between 28 and 36 weeks pregnant, are over the age of 18 and are delivering their baby at the John Hunter hospital.

Researchers say what is recommended to eat during a woman’s pregnancy can influence not only her health but the wellbeing of her baby.

For those wishing to complete the survey the link directly for participants is:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/pregnancyDQ#newspaper

For more information, contact the Hunter Medical Research Institute or the research team:

WEBSITE: https://hmri.org.au/

PH: (02) 4921 5646