Maternal pregnancy nutrition influences fetal growth. Evidence is limited, however, on the relationship of maternal diet during pregnancy and lactation on infant postnatal growth and adiposity. Our purpose was to examine associations between maternal diet quality during pregnancy and lactation with offspring growth and body composition from birth to six months. Maternal diet quality was serially assessed in pregnancy and at one and three months postpartum, using the Healthy Eating Index–2015 in a cohort of 354 fully breastfeeding mother–infant dyads. Infant length-for-age (LAZ), weight-for-age (WAZ), and weight-for-length (WLZ) Z-scores were assessed at birth, one, three, and six months. Infant body fat percent (BF%), fat mass (FM), and fat-free mass (FFM) were measured at six months using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Higher maternal diet quality from pregnancy through three months postpartum was associated with lower infant WLZ from birth to six months (p = 0.02) and BF% at six months (p ≤ 0.05). Higher maternal diet quality at one and three months postpartum was also associated with lower infant FM at six months (p < 0.01). In summary, maternal diet quality during pregnancy and lactation was inversely associated with infant relative weight and adiposity in early postnatal life. Additional research is needed to explore whether associations persist across the life course.

Experiences of discrimination are associated with increased risk of adverse health outcomes; however, it is unknown whether discrimination is related to incident type 2 diabetes mellitus (diabetes). We investigated the associations of major experiences of discrimination (unfair treatment in 6 situations) and everyday discrimination (frequency of day-to-day experiences of unfair treatment) with incident diabetes among 5,310 participants from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis, enrolled in 2000–2002. Using Cox proportional hazards models, we estimated hazard ratios and confidence intervals, adjusting for demographic factors, depressive symptoms, stress, smoking, alcohol, physical activity, diet, waist circumference, and body mass index. Over a median follow-up of 9.4 years, 654 diabetes cases were accrued. Major experiences of discrimination were associated with greater risk of incident diabetes when modeled continuously (for each additional experience of discrimination, hazard ratio = 1.09, 95% confidence interval: 1.01, 1.17) or categorically (for ≥2 experiences vs. 0, hazard ratio = 1.34, 95% confidence interval: 1.08, 1.66). Similar patterns were observed when evaluating discrimination attributed to race/ethnicity or to a combination of other sources. Everyday discrimination was not associated with incident diabetes. In conclusion, major experiences of discrimination were associated with increased risk of incident diabetes, independent of obesity or behavioral and psychosocial factors. Future research is needed to explore the mechanisms of the discrimination-diabetes relationship.

Objective: The goal of this study was to examine the associations of maternal weight status before, during, and after pregnancy with breast milk C‐reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin 6 (IL‐6), two bioactive markers of inflammation, measured at 1 and 3 months post partum.Methods: Participants were 134 exclusively breastfeeding mother‐infant dyads taking part in the Mothers and Infants Linked for Health (MILK) study, who provided breast milk samples. Pre‐pregnancy body mass index (BMI) and gestational weight gain (GWG) were assessed by chart abstraction; postpartum weight loss was measured at the 1‐ and 3‐month study visits. Linear regression was used to examine the associations of maternal weight status with repeated measures of breast milk CRP and IL‐6 at 1 and 3 months, after adjustment for potential confounders.Results: Pre‐pregnancy BMI and excessive GWG, but not total GWG or postpartum weight loss, were independently associated with breast milk CRP after adjustment (β = 0.49, P < 0.001 and β = 0.51, P = 0.011, respectively). No associations were observed for IL‐6.Conclusions: High pre‐pregnancy BMI and excessive GWG are associated with elevated levels of breast milk CRP. The consequences of infants receiving varying concentrations of breast milk inflammatory markers are unknown; however, it is speculated that there are implications for the intergenerational transmission of disease risk.