Effects of Nutrition and Exercise During Pregnancy on Maternal and Infant Health
A special issue of Nutrients (ISSN 2072-6643). This special issue belongs to the section "Nutrition in Women".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 May 2026 | Viewed by 9
Special Issue Editor
Interests: exercise science; exercise physiology; physical activity epidemiology; pregnancy; athletes; metabolism; nutrition
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
This Special Issue explores the influence of nutrition and exercise during pregnancy and their influence on maternal and infant health outcomes. Pregnancy presents a unique physiological state in which dietary intake and physical activity interact with the maternal–fetal–placental unit, affecting offspring growth, development and long-term health trajectories. Contributions to this Special Issue aim to highlight rigorous scientific evidence on the effects of structured exercise interventions on the improvement of maternal cardiovascular fitness, metabolic function and psychological health, while balanced nutritional strategies support fetal growth, reduce pregnancy complications and optimize birth outcomes. Together, these studies may provide further insight into the synergistic role of exercise and nutrition in mitigating risks such as gestational diabetes, hypertensive disorders, excessive gestational weight gain and postpartum recovery challenges. By integrating clinical, epidemiological and mechanistic perspectives, this Special Issue provides a comprehensive overview of the current evidence and future directions for advancing safe, effective, and individualized nutrition and exercise guidelines during pregnancy.
Dr. Samantha McDonald
Guest Editor
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 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
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-blind 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
- nutrition
- exercise
- maternal
- postpartum
- physical activity
- infant
- perinatal
- neonate
- aerobic
- placenta
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.
