Traditional vegetable diet lowers risk of premature babies: Aussie study

A diet high in traditional vegetables before pregnancy lowers the risk of a premature birth, according to latest Australian research.

High consumption of carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, pumpkin, cabbage, green beans and potatoes before conception helped women reach full term pregnancy, University of Queensland researcher Dereje Gete said in a statement on Tuesday.

"Traditional vegetables are rich in antioxidants or anti-inflammatory nutrients, which have a significant role in reducing the risk of adverse birth outcomes," said Gete, who analyzed the diets of nearly 3,500 women.

"Women depend on certain stored nutrients such as calcium and iron before conception, which are critical for placenta and fetus tissue development," Gete said.

"Starting a healthier diet after the baby has been conceived may be too late, because babies are fully formed by the end of the first trimester," Gete said.

"People born prematurely face a greater risk of metabolic and chronic diseases in adulthood, as well as poor cognitive development and academic performance," according to university researcher Gita Mishra.

Premature births, which are births before 37 weeks of gestation, are also the leading cause of death in Australian children and affect 8.5 percent of births each year, a figure which is trending upwards, according to the university.

The research was part of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health, a large ongoing population-based study of more than 57,000 women investigating the role of socio-demographic, biological, physical, environmental and behavioral factors on health and well-being.

The latest findings, which were published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, suggested dietary intervention and strategies to change behavior may be helpful when women start thinking about having a baby, Mishra said.