294 - The association between prenatal physical activity and infant birth parameters and feeding practices in an adolescent cohort
Monday, May 1, 2023
9:30 AM – 11:30 AM ET
Poster Number: 294 Publication Number: 294.407
Cristina R.. Fernandez, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, United States; Daniel M. Alschuler, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, United States; Seonjoo Lee, Columbia university, new york, NY, United States; Catherine Monk, Columbia University, New York, NY, United States
Assistant Professor Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons New York, New York, United States
Background: Excess gestational weight gain has been linked to adverse child growth. However, less is known about how physical activity (PA) behaviors of pregnant adolescents, as a mediator of weight status, affects infant birth parameters and feeding practices that promote healthy infant weight gain. Objective: To examine the association between adolescent PA at the start and end of pregnancy and infant birth parameters and feeding practices. Design/Methods: A cross-sectional analysis of a longitudinal study on pregnant adolescents and infant brain development (2009-2017) was performed. In the parent study, pregnant urban youth were prospectively followed from the 1st trimester to 4 months postpartum. Primary exposure of PA in the 1st and 3rd trimesters were self-reported via a Physical Activity Record. Primary outcomes of (i) infant birthweight (BW) and weight-for-length (WFL) z-scores and (ii) infant feeding practice at 4 months were abstracted from the medical record and maternal-reported, respectively. Tests of association and a priori relationships informed final regression models, adjusting for maternal age, ethnicity, education, gestational weight gain, and infant gestational age and sex. Results: There were n=85 pregnant adolescent-infant dyads in the sample. Adolescents were mean age 17.6±1.3 years and 90% were Latina. Average PA was 2.2±2.1 hours/week in the 1st trimester and 2.5±2.1 hours/week in the 3rd trimester. Among the 78 dyads with complete data, 78.3% partly or exclusively breastfed post-delivery and 21.8% partly or exclusively breastfed at 4 months. Partly or exclusively breastfed infant had significantly shorter birth length than formula-fed infants (49.8±1.3 cm vs. 51.0±2.1 cm, p=.01). First trimester PA was significantly associated with lower infant birth WFL z-score [adjusted odds ratio (AOR = 0.19, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.05, 0.33] but not birthweight z-score [β=0.10, 95% CI -0.01, 0.20],or 4-month infant feeding practice [AOR=0.95, 95% CI 0.61, 1.32]. Third trimester PA was not associated with infant birth parameters [BW β=0.05, 95% CI -0.06, 0.15; WFL β=0.02, 95% CI -0.13, 0.18] or 4-month feeding practice [AOR=0.84, 95% CI -0.72,0.17].
Conclusion(s): Pregnant adolescents’ PA in the 1st trimester but not the 3rd trimester was significantly associated with infant birth WFL z-score, an early estimate of body composition. Fostering PA and other health behaviors among adolescents early in the pregnancy may have implications for fetal growth, and future research in a larger adolescent sample will examine other prenatal health behaviors related to infant growth and feeding.
