Eat more trans fats in pregnancy, have a bigger baby

Some medical studies are exciting and have unexpected results, while others seek to find out about things that are already obvious to most people. One new study reports that pregnant women who consume larger amounts of trans fats tend to have bigger babies. Really?

The only mystery here is why it was necessary to spend time, effort and money to come to that conclusion! Mind you, we all indulge in less than healthy eating sometimes, even during pregnancy. When we are really busy and are feeling too exhausted to cook, fast food can be really appealing.

Add pregnancy cravings to that, and one can see why the publicity this study which appeared in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition could contribute to pregnant women cutting trans fats out of their diets. After interviewing nearly 1,400 women, the research team found that the number of trans fats consumed during the second trimester of pregnancy corresponds directly to the weight of the baby a woman will give birth to.

Trans fats have the bad reputation they deserve these guys heighten LDL cholesterol and also lower the good HDL cholesterol but still creep into many peoples' diets more often than they may like. Lead researcher Juliana Cohen from the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston said that the study did not find a direct link between trans fats and altered fetal growth, but that women who consumed more trans fats were far more likely to have a larger baby.

She added that those women may need a cesarean section for that reason, something that can cause future health problems too. "It's prudent to limit trans fats in your diet anyway," Cohen said. "Pregnant women may want to think about how (the fats) could affect fetal growth as well." If you are interested in better eating during pregnancy, take a look at our tips to prevent too much pregnancy weight gain as well.