Nutritional Nesting (Nestrition): Shaping the Home Food Environment in the First Pregnancy.

Objective: To investigate primiparous women's knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding the physical home food environment (PHFE) and to assess if the first pregnancy provides a teachable opportunity to enhance the PHFE of first-time pregnant couples.

Design: Longitudinal in-depth qualitative study involving questionnaires and individual interviews during and after pregnancy.

Participants: Fifteen primigravida women.

Main Outcome Measures: Knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors concerning PHFE; lifestyle and dietary habits; and interest in guidance regarding healthy PHFE during the first pregnancy and the transition to motherhood.

Analysis: Thematic analysis for qualitative data and descriptive statistics.

Results: Key findings include the significance of health, nutrition, and spousal support in the transition to motherhood. The first pregnancy was recognized as a critical period for establishing a healthy PHFE, while noting the physical and emotional challenges involved. A gap was found in guidance regarding PHFE for first-time pregnant women despite their interest in practical advice.

Conclusions And Implications: The first pregnancy presents a significant opportunity to improve PHFE. 'Nestrition' (nutritional nesting), a new health-promotion strategy, incorporates nutrition education to enhance this process. These data support future research encompassing partners and diverse at-risk populations prior to the development of effective nutrition education for PHFE in the first pregnancy.