About the project

Investigating maternal nutrition during the first trimester of a mother’s pregnancy may help determine how this influences the outcome of preterm births in New Zealand. This research aims to examine the associations of preterm births with maternal socio-demographic status. maternal age, ethnicity, number of pregnancies (parity), maternal dietary patterns and adherence to dietary guidelines.

This analysis will be essential to inform the methods and data collection for a research project to be undertaken as part of my PhD. This PhD project aims to determine how preterm births and patterns/differences in maternal nutrition are mapped and visualized in various regions of New Zealand. It also will investigate if and how other factors from the Growing Up in NZ research influence the outcome of preterm birth and the probability of poor maternal nutrition. The data collected will explain key determinants of pregnancy outcomes and preterm births in New Zealand. This information will be used as the foundational knowledge to assist with developing a detailed map of the associations between a large number of routinely collected data and preterm birth rates throughout the country which will help identify potentially preventable preterm births.

‍

Start date: 7/02/2023