Association of Household Food Insecurity with the Mental and Physical Health of Low-Income Urban Ecuadorian Women with Children.

Chronic physical and mental health conditions account for a rising proportion of morbidity, mortality, and disability in the Americas region. Household food insecurity (HFI) has been linked to chronic disease in US and Canadian women but it is uncertain if the same is true for low- and middle-income Latin American countries in epidemiologic transition. We conducted a survey to investigate the association of HFI with the physical and mental health of 794 women with children living in low-income Quito, Ecuador, neighborhoods.

Food aversions and cravings during early pregnancy: association with nausea and vomiting.

The prospective cohort study examined whether Ecuadorian women with early pregnancy nausea and vomiting (NVP) are more likely to develop food aversions and cravings, and if so, whether the specific foods identified as aversive or craved are the same as those predicted by the popular maternal-embryo protection hypothesis (MEPH). Consistent with MEPH predictions, women with NVP were more likely to report increased odor sensitivity and aversions for some predicted "toxic" foods and more likely to crave fruits. However, other hypothesis predictions were not supported.

Is the nausea and vomiting of early pregnancy really feto-protective?

Background: Health care providers and popular press articles frequently advise women that nausea and vomiting of early pregnancy (NVP) portends a favorable fetal outcome.

Aim: To investigate the claim that NVP protects against adverse fetal outcomes and improves placental and fetal growth.

Methods: Data were collected on a prospective cohort of 849 Ecuadorian prenatal patients beginning in early gestation until postpartum.