RESUMO
Inadequate nutritional status of pregnancy can cause underweight and premature birth, undergrowth and deliverance of physically and mentally defected babyies. The purpose of this study is to provide guidelines for preventing preterm delivery in the aspect of nutritional factors. The nutrient intakes were compared between a preterm delivery group and a normal term delivery group to recognize risk factors of preterm delivery. The results obtained are summarized as follows. The pregnancy period was statistically longer in the normal term group (p < 0.0001). Weight increase was statistically higher in the normal term group (p < 0.0001). Calories (p < 0.05), carbohydrates (p < 0.0005), dietary fibers (p < 0.0001), potassium (p < 0.0005), vitamin B1 (p < 0.0005), vitamin B6 (p < 0.05), vitamin C (p < 0.0001), and folic acid (p < 0.05) intakes were statistically higher in the normal term group. Nutrient density of vitamin B1 (p < 0.05) and vitamin C (p < 0.0001) in the normal term group was statistically higher. Nutrient adequacy ratio of zinc (p < 0.05), vitamin B1 (p < 0.05) and folic acid (p < 0.05) were statistically higher in the normal term group. Index of Nutritional Quality of vitamin B1 (p < 0.05) and vitamin C (p < 0.0001) were statistically higher in the normal term group. In this study, the normal term delivery showed higher intakes of calories, carbohydrates, dietary fiber, crude fiber, potassium, vitamin B1, vitamin B6, vitamin C and folic acid than the preterm delivery group. Deficiencies in various nutrients may lead to preterm delivery, therefore, balanced nutrient intake is recommended to prevent preterm delivery.