Maternal overweight, obesity, and gestational diabetes (GD) have been negatively associated with offspring development. Further knowledge regarding metabolic and nutritional alterations in these mother and their offspring are warranted. In an observational cohort study we included 331 pregnant women from Granada, Spain. The mothers were categorized into four groups according to BMI and their GD status; overweight (n:56), obese (n:64), GD (n:79), and healthy normal weight controls (n:132). We assessed maternal growth and nutritional biomarkers at 24 weeks (n = 269), 34 weeks (n = 310) and at delivery (n = 310) and the perinatal characteristics including cord blood biomarkers. Obese and GD mothers had significantly lower weight gain during pregnancy and infant birth weight, waist circumference, and placental weight were higher in the obese group, including a significantly increased prevalence of macrosomia. Except for differences in markers of glucose metabolism (glucose, HbA1c, insulin and uric acid) we found at some measures that overweight and/or obese mothers had lower levels of transferrin saturation, hemoglobin, Vitamin B12 and folate and higher levels of C-reactive protein, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, ferritin, and cortisol. GD mothers had similar differences in hemoglobin and C-reactive protein but higher levels of folate. The latter was seen also in cord blood. We identified several metabolic alterations in overweight, obese and GD mothers compared to controls. Together with the observed differences in infant anthropometrics, these may be important biomarkers in future research regarding the programming of health and disease in children. The trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov, identifier ( NCT01634464 ).

INTRODUCTION: Postpartum depression (PPD) can begin within 6 weeks postpartum (International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision) and represents a significant health problem for mothers. AIM: To determine whether physical activity during pregnancy alleviates PPD. METHOD: Randomized controlled trial in which the exercise group practiced moderate physical exercise in an aquatic environment (1-hour sessions, 3 days a week), following the recommendations of the SWEP method. RESULTS: The results observed in the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale were significant between the exercise group and the control group (p < .001). In addition, significant differences were observed according in body mass index between the exercise group and control group in the overweight and obesity categories (p < .05). CONCLUSION: Women who perform moderate physical exercise in an aquatic environment are at lower risk of PPD than sedentary women. Overweight and obesity among sedentary women during pregnancy are closely associated with positive screening for PPD.

Breastfeeding is the ideal way to provide infants with the nutrients they need for healthy growth and development. Milk composition changes throughout lactation, and fat is one of the most variable nutrients in human milk. The aim of this study was to determine the main differences between the fatty acid (FA) profile of human milk samples (colostrum, transitional, and mature milk group) and infant formulas. Human milk samples were provided by lactating women from Granada. Moreover, different commercial infant formulas were analyzed. FAs were determined using gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. According to the results, oleic acid was the predominant monounsaturated fatty acid (41.93% in human milk and 43.53% in infant formulas), while palmitic acid was the most representative saturated fatty acid (20.88% in human milk and 23.09% in infant formulas). Significant differences were found between human milk groups and infant formulas, mainly in long-chain polyunsaturated FAs (LC-PUFAs). The content of araquidonic acid (AA) and docoxahexaenoic acid (DHA) was higher in human milk (0.51% and 0.39%, respectively) than in infant formulas (0.31% and 0.22%, respectively). Linoleic acid (LA) percentage (15.31%) in infant formulas was similar to that found in human milk (14.6%). However, α-linolenic acid (ALA) values were also much higher in infant formulas than in human milk (1.64% and 0.42%, respectively).

Background: Physical exercise helps to maintain a healthy lifestyle and its practice is recommended for women during pregnancy as a means of limiting the negative effects on the body that may take place and to optimise well-being, mood and sleep patterns, as well as encouraging daily physical activity, enhancing the ability to work and preventing pregnancy-related complications. Aim: To analyse the quality of life in pregnancy for women who complete a programme of moderate physical activity in water, following a designed method that the woman can perform physical exercise safely during pregnancy called the SWEP (study of water exercise during pregnancy) method. Materials and methods: A randomised clinical trial was performed. One hundred and twenty-nine pregnant women were randomly assigned either to an exercise class following the SWEP method (EG, n = 65) or to a control group (CG, n = 64). The trial began in week 20 of pregnancy (May 2016) and ended in week 37 (October 2016). Heath-related quality of life (HRQoL) was evaluated with the SF36v2 health questionnaire at weeks 12 and 35 of pregnancy. Results: The HRQoL score decreased significantly between weeks 12 and 35 of gestation, except for the mental health component, which in the CG fell by −3.28 points and in the EG increased slightly (p > 0.05). Among the CG, the score for the mental health component at week 35 was ≤42, indicating a positive screening risk of depression (39.20 ± 4.16). Conclusions: Physical activity programmes in water, such as SWEP, enhance the HRQoL of pregnant women.