Maternal Nutrition and Lifestyle: From Conception to Infant Development
A special issue of Nutrients (ISSN 2072-6643). This special issue belongs to the section "Pediatric Nutrition".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 December 2026 | Viewed by 960
Editors
Interests: maternal nutrition; fetal programming; maternal obesity; pregnancy pathologies; pregnancy; placenta; placental mitochondria; DOHaD
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: nutritional, metabolic, and hormonal profiles in pregnancies associated with maternal obesity or placental insufficiency diseases (IUGR); placenta; maternal nutrition; maternal obesity; gestational weight gain; pregnancy hormonal profile
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Maternal nutrition and lifestyle represent key determinants of health across the life course, beginning even before conception and extending through pregnancy, lactation, and early infancy. A growing body of evidence highlights how maternal dietary patterns, physical activity, metabolic status, stress levels, and other lifestyle factors can influence fetal development, birth outcomes, and long-term child health. These influences are mediated through complex mechanisms, including epigenetic modifications, hormonal regulation, oxidative stress, and the intrauterine environment, ultimately shaping the developmental origins of health and disease.
Optimal maternal nutrition is essential not only for supporting physiological changes during pregnancy but also for promoting healthy fetal growth and neurodevelopment. At the same time, lifestyle behaviors such as regular physical activity, adequate sleep, and avoidance of harmful exposures (e.g., smoking, alcohol) play a crucial and complementary role. Importantly, these factors are modifiable, offering valuable opportunities for early prevention strategies aimed at improving both maternal and offspring outcomes.
Despite increasing awareness, important gaps remain in understanding how combined lifestyle factors interact and how best to translate current evidence into effective clinical and public health interventions.
In this Special Issue of Nutrients, we welcome original research articles as well as review articles addressing maternal nutrition and lifestyle from preconception to infant development, with the aim of advancing knowledge and informing practice in this evolving field.
Dr. Chiara Mandò
Dr. Gaia Maria Anelli
Dr. Chiara Novielli
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Nutrients is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- pregnancy
- maternal nutrition and lifestyle
- obesity
- preconception care
- placenta
- fetal development
- gestational complications infant health
- early life programming
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